Reunions are a Deleted
by Bob Regent
Summary: Name amended due to guidelines. A clash of ideologies will cause widespread death and destruction for two races both alike and strange to the other. SG1nBSG xover
1. Prologue

Title: Reunions are a Bitch

Author: Ash's Boomstick  
Rating: R  
Summary: A clash of ideologies will cause widespread death and destruction for two races both alike and strange to the other.

nBSG/SG-1 Crossover 

Spoilers: Some small ones for pre season 9 SG-1 and some for all of nBSG

Dedications: The now expanded MSN usual suspects-one day I may end up writing all the names out for this ;), Skeet and Jason Thompson.

NOTICE: THIS STORY MAY BE DISTRIBUTED FREE OF CHARGE BUT MUST NOT BE SOLD OR EXCHANGED FOR FINANCIAL RETURN IN ANY FORM.  
---------------------COPYRIGHT/DISCLAIMER NOTICE-----------  
The full disclaimer will be located at the end of this story. However, be it known that I own nothing and expect to get nothing because the rights are owned by others. Only certain characters and technologies are mine and these are the creation of the author who is solely responsible for them as such. Neither Studio is responsible for the content of this story.

THIS STATEMENT MUST ACCOMPANY THE STORY 'Reunions are a Bitch' IF DISTRIBUTED. THIS STORY IS FREE OF CHARGE AND MAY NOT BE SOLD OR EXCHANGED FOR FINANCIAL RETURN IN ANY FORM. THIS DEDICATION MUST ACCOMPANY ANY DISTRUBUTION OF THIS STORY.

_**Prologue**_

"All ships are ready for FTL jumps sir, Vipers and Raptors are on full standby, nuclear ordinance has been authorized for use by Picon Command."

"Very well, start the clock Captain."

"Aye sir, FTL in three minutes."

"Commander, the Admiral has ordered our wing in as the first wave. Missile ships will follow us in; the other groups will jump in a few seconds after we do."

'"Good, the attack shouldn't be too difficult for our forces. Then we can bring the thirteenth tribe back into the fold. Bring all weapons to full power and load Vipers into launch tubes. We want them out as soon as we jump."

"Aye sir."

The Warstar Zeus stood at the very center of the formation of ships powering to the front of the fleet. Almost half again as large as the already impressive Mercury Class Battlestars the vessel was one of the latest in her line. Her four hangers carrying close to three times the viper forces that of their sister class were capable of, missiles and heavy railguns made up her formidable ship to ship armament believed to be able of shredding any ship any enemy could possibly send against them.

She stood surrounded by countless other capital ships, escorts, missile cruisers, and even a number of electronic countermeasure enhanced warships to jam any scans the enemy forces might try against them. She was part of the largest concentration of warships in the history of the colonies. Approximately two hundred of the most powerful and capable vessels in the Colonial Defense Forces had been assembled for this mission. It had taken months of planning to bring the veteran forces to this point, but after all this time they were ready. As the fleet began countdown the last Raptors and Vipers of the attack force landed on their respective ships, the fleet began opening up their formations as the jump engines spooled up on the other ships.

"Fleet is beginning jump, escorts are jumping."

"FTL countdown in five, four, three, two, one… FTL is go."

"Jump!"

Unobserved, the Colonial war fleet flashed out in bursts of light. All two hundred vessels jumping the final few light years to their destination. Now it was time to remind the humans of the planet Earth of their place in the Lords' universe.

_**NORAD**_

_**Local Space Defense and Orbital Telemetry Station**_

_**Cheyenne Mountain**_

"Sir, we're detecting energy bursts, a lot of them."

"Identify."

"Can't Sir, I don't recognize them we're putting them through the database Colonel Carter set up. But we're reading over two hundred of them. Aahh Christ..."

"Chief?"

"Ships, sir. Every energy burst is a ship appearing in system."

"Point to point travel?"

"Aye sir, energy pulse identified."

"Colonials."

"Yes sir, two hundred warships incoming."

"Alright Walter, contact all off world bases, inform them we are on a Code Red emergency. They are to prepare for incoming refugees. Inform Atlantis that the Daedalus won't be making their scheduled run and contact the Jaffa if you can, we might need their help."

"Yes, sir." Walter Harriman began the dial up sequence for the Alpha site,

"Airman," Landry barked at one of the other on duty Airmen. "Call SG-1 to the briefing room and get me General O'Neill on the phone."

"Yes, Sir," responded the young woman.

"No need for that Hank," a very familiar voice came from behind him.

"Jack."

"What's goin' on?"

"A fleet has just jumped into the system. We've identified them as Colonial ships from the Cyrannus system.

"Cyrannus system?"

"The Prometheus almost blew up some of their ships when we dropped into the home systems a few years ago; seem they've decided to pay us a visit."

"Ahh crap, those guys."

"That's about the size of it, you'll need to contact the president Jack if those ships get close enough we might not have the forces to stop them before they bombard the surface."

"Crap, it's always me that gets stuck with this."

"You took the promotion Jack you could have stayed in the field."

"With my knees, you better believe it. Can I use your office?"

"Sure, you know where the phone is."

**Oval office**

**White House**

**Washington DC**

Henry Hayes always saw himself as a capable man and believe himself to be a fair and capable president, he however had not expected the phone call that had come through the line from the SGC. Since the destruction of Anubis and later Garek and his followers he was looking forwards to a nice long and quiet administration.

"Who taunted Murphy this time?" he said to himself.

"Don't know Sir. If I find out he'll get a 9mm lobotomy."

"Alright what is the situation, General?"

"Two hundred ships at least sir, all armed with projectile weapons and nukes and headed right for Earth. We're readying to mobilize every ship we have but I'm not sure we have the numbers or the firepower to stop them, we just need your go order sir."

"No chance of talking them down then?"

"I don't think so Sir, the Colonials see themselves as the living embodiment of what their gods wanted. We're the 'wayward child' in their eyes, they are convinced that we need to be brought in and around to our way of thinking… no matter the cost to either side. It's there way or nothing."

"How much do they know about us?"

O'neill paused as he contemplated their answer. For once Daniel had listened to his orders and had only told the Colonials the basics of Earth and its people. After things had gone to hell they had been out of there fairly quickly and he just hoped that they didn't get enough to be an immense threat.

"Not much Sir and what they did have is now years out of date. They don't know our true strength however we don't know if they have any Intel from outside sources. Satellite scans don't show shields of any kind though so I think our own Intel may still be valid."

"Alright General, I'm giving the orders. Use whatever means you have to stop that fleet. We'll get whatever we can in the air. I'll contact the other IOA countries get their forces up as well."

"Thank you, sir."

"Do what you can to keep them away Jack. We'll be behind you all the way."

"We'll do our best, Sir."

"Good luck, General."

"Thank you Sir, god knows we're going to need it."

"Hank, we're a go."

Landry looked directly and Chief Harriman who had already punched up communications to the numerous bases and airstrips set up worldwide for this eventuality.

"Chief, send the orders."

"On it Sir. All stations, all stations this is Stargate Command. Code Red repeat Code Red, we have hostiles in system all crews to orbit immediately." Harriman's calm voice echoed in the now silent Gate Room. "Code Red this is not a drill hostile units incoming."

The minutes passed as the allied stations began their launch preparations, one by one the incoming reports began filtering through. Walter looked up at the officers his eyes wide beneath his glasses. "Sirs, all ships are confirming launch orders, all F302s are in the air and Commander Winston is on his way to the weapons platform. Sir, Area 51 has asked me to inform you that the Prototype is ready if it is needed."

"We'll let them know. We'll probably need it and have it sent to one of the ships when in orbit have all ships rendezvous and enter formation safeties off. Then get me a line to the incoming fleet."

"Aye, sir," Walter replied.

"Think that they might be here as friends, Hank?"

"From what I read of the Prometheus' flight logs, not a chance." Landry looked up to see the members of the flagship team coming down the stairs. "SG-1."

"Sirs," Carter greeted the two Generals.

"What's the big emergency?" Cameron Mitchell walked in behind the others. "The entire base is going nuts… damn that's a lot of energy spikes."

"It's a fleet of warships a few hours out from orbit," Landry replied. "We're sending everything we've got into space even the partially completed ships are being armed and sent up."

"That still leaves us badly outnumbered against whoever it is," Mitchell said. "Uhh who is it exactly?"

"They call themselves the twelve colonies…"

"Oh great," Jackson murmured."

"I don't remember that mission report."

"It was classified at a high level and locked away, the then president didn't want another holy crusade kind of thing to worry the government," O'Neill said. "But it's the main reason we have an increased Daedalus production set up. Sorry for that Hank, but we need the ships and quickly."

"It might be a good thing if those ships are here for a fight. Walter, confirm numbers then get me a radio channel to those Colonials. Maybe we can stop this before it becomes a real fight."

"Aye, sir."

"I think it might be an idea if I go up there, command the fleet from the Prometheus," Jack said. "I'd like to take SG-1 with me; we might need all the help we can get."

"Uhh Jack," Daniel interrupted. "After what happened last time do you really think that we should? I'm not sure what I said but I think whatever it was pissed them off enough to target the Prometheus."

"I need a languages expert and you're the best we got. You're coming the rest of you as well. If anything hit the fan you can usually get us out of it. Hank?"

"Alright take them, the Prometheus is standing by."

"Good, I…"

Walter interrupted again calling out, on the screens the number of enemy ships has finally been calculated with over two hundred warships and tenders. Already the fleet was splitting up protecting both the fleet supplies and heading towards Earth, on the second screen the few warships of the SGC fleet stood ready.

"That explains why they came out of whatever faster than light drive they have." Mitchell nodded at the screen. "Their supplies had to come with them, how far away was this sector?"

"About six hundred light years down spiral. Their FTL drives are very underpowered compared to our own hyper drives. It must have taken them this long to pull their forces together as well as pool their supplies for such a long mission. Odds are they have a number of supply outposts all the way along their path to Earth."

"Scanners detecting thousands of new signals sirs, all smaller types."

"Fighters?"

"I think so sir. Single or double manned ships. Fighters and attack ships possible sir."

"Status of the fleet?"

"Still incoming sir, one hour and closing."

"Get me that radio channel, Chief."

"On it Sir; radio channel established."

"Feed it through the translation systems, both ways we'll see if the boys from area 51 have earned their pay." Landry spoke to the microphone. "This is Major General Hank Landry Commander officer Stargate Command to incoming fleet, you are violating Earth space. State your intentions or you will be fired upon."

"Translation has gone through Sir. They are receiving it."

"It's going to be we're here to bring you into our nice cuddly group and you'll do as we say type or else type of thing." Jack smirked. "That or they'll try to sell us a copy of the galactic version of the Encyclopedia Britannica, either way I'll still shoot them. Alright time for some fun," he said soberly. "Tell Prometheus to bring us up."

"Good luck, Jack."

"You too, Hank."

With a flash of white light the five SGC personnel past and present disappeared from the Stargate operations centre. Hank Landry turned to Harriman the younger man shaking his head. No reply had been sent by the incoming Colonial warships and they were closing at a rapid rate. Landry ordered the message sent again and retired to the briefing room where already a number of officers were setting up communications and navigational charts.

"Alright. People, what have we got?"

Major Davis from the pentagon stood to attention only to be waved off by Landry. "The Prometheus, Daedalus, Odyssey, Korolev and the partially built ships are all in position sir. All F-302 squadrons are off the ground and heading for orbit. The prototype is being fitted to a captured cargo ship just in case we need it."

"What about atmospheric defenses?"

"All members of the IOA have been informed and fighter squadrons are being prepped for launch across the world. If they get past the fleet then the fighters will be in position to attack."

"Good, we're sending teams to contact the Jaffa and Asgard for assistance as soon as possible. But for the moment we're on our own. Two hundred ships even unshielded, could do a lot of damage if they get past our handful of cruisers."

"I've read the reports of the Prometheus' encounter with the twelve colonies sir. It's possible they will use nuclear bombardment to force us to accede to their demands and we have little to no ground or orbital defenses to stop those missiles."

"We have the outpost."

"Yes sir, we do, but the drones are seriously depleted after the attack by Anubis and then by the fleet under Gerak a few months ago. We may not be able to deploy many drones against the incoming fleet let alone enough to stop the missiles we are detecting from their heavy ships. The fleet's own defenses may however be able to stop any from hitting our ships."

"Have all 302s assigned to interception duty, enemy fighters and ordinance are primary targets."

"Aye, sir."

"Sir, we have incoming transmission from Prometheus. General O'Neill has taken command of the fleet. All ships and fighters are in position between us and the Colonial fleet."

"Get me a channel to the Prometheus."

_**Bridge**_

_**USAF Prometheus **_

_**Earth Orbit**_

"Hank, Jack. We're in position."

"Understood Jack, we're receiving a reply from the Colonials."

"Took them long enough."

"Look like they use old style radio transmissions; no sign of subspace activity at all."

"So it takes a while for the messages to get from them to us then."

"Yes, we're sending it up."

"_This is the Colonial First Liberation fleet to the planet of Earth; we are here to return you to the way of the true home of humanity and the Lords that are the creators of humanity in all incarnations. The false religions that are forced upon your peoples will be erased and the religion of Kobol shall once again embrace you all." _

The woman's voice that rang across the radio waves was picked up by the advanced systems long before they were picked up by the Earth itself.

"Any way we can stop any of this getting to Earth?"

"No sir it's too encompassing. We can jam most of it but there's too many individual signals scattered across the western hemisphere to block even with interference from our ships. Pretty much every country in the western world will hear that in the next few minutes," Colonel Pendergast said.

"Great, that's all we need. Alright let's get this show on the road, take us in closer and then open up another channel to the Colonial fleet. I want to talk to them person to person."

"Helm, take us to within standard radio range and then all stop."

"Standard radio range, Aye."

"General, that puts us well within range of our main weapons, but we don't know the range of their weapons."

"It's not their range I'm worried about Lionel, it's the numbers and nukes those things are carrying. If we can stop this before it gets started then no one has to die…" O'Neill was interrupted by the Airman as they entered the close range that was needed to contact the Colonial ships. "Let's see if we can get this rolling… Colonial Flagship this is General O'Neill of the United States Air Force Warship Prometheus, you have entered protected space. Halt or we will be forced to open fire on your ships. You will not get another warning."

He looked at the communications off who shook her head again, whoever was in command of this fleet was not at all talkative or at least not to O'Neill. As it was the ships of the Colonial fleet were moving steadily along the course they were taking directly to Earth.

"No change in trajectory Sir. All enemy ships are heading right for the fleet."

"Ready main gun," Pendergast said. "Target the center of the enemy ships, warning shot only."

"Gun charging, full power in thirty seconds."

"General?"

"Proceed Colonel, if they don't stop feel free to shoot the bastards down." O'Neill grimaced. "Hopefully they won't be stupid enough to get their people killed for no reason."

"Main gun ready Sirs, warning shot plotted."

Pendergast nodded his assent as he spoke "Fire."

A single bright blue energy pulse emerged from the very front of the Earth warship. The Asgard derived energy cannon had been a gift to the SGC from a grateful Asgard race via their fleet commander Thor. The cannon was difficult to power and even more difficult to use compared to the other weapons in the SGC's arsenal but no one weapon was nearly as powerful or useful as the PPC was. The blue pulse shot straight between the two closest capital warships to the Prometheus spinning past at close to light speed. The scans of the Colonial ships barely registered the pulse but what little they did detect was enough to scare a number of ship commanders into halting their warship groups.

"I think that got their attention, Colonel."

"Yes Sir. It did. Seventy ships have stopped the rest have slowed but are still advancing on our position."

"Sir the largest ship in the center seem to be their flagship, they are hailing us."

"About time, put them on Lieutenant." Jack waited for the nod from the operations officer before beginning. "This is O'Neill."

"This is Admiral Nagala aboard the Warstar Zeus, you and your ships are opposing a rightful crusade in the names of the Lords of Kobol and the colonies that are the legacy of the gods. You will stand aside and allow us to complete this mission or you will be destroyed. You are outnumbered outgunned and of inferior construction to our capital ships, stand down and join your world."

"Negative Admiral, we've had enough of so called 'Gods' and their followers trying to kill us. Remove yourself from this system now or we will destroy your fleet. You have ten minutes to remove yourself from the system before we start killing your ships, anyone left after that time will be made an example of."

"It is the destiny of the thirteen colonies of Kobol to be brought together as friends and allies, you will join us."

"No, we won't."

"You will one way or the other, once the people of Earth know the truth they will follow the path of the Lords of Kobol above any other."

"Then you guys obviously don't know much about Earth."

"We know enough."

"I doubt it, you have eight minutes left Admiral or we start killing. Prometheus out."

The signal between the two ships was cut from the USAF warship's end. The small warship increased power to its engines and accelerated away from the slowly moving fleet of Colonial warships. The other five ships of the Earth fleet already stood guard an equal distance from the others expanding their defense 'net' out as far as possible. The Prometheus moved into her own place directly forward of the larger Daedalus class ships.

Its main weapon would be necessary to suppress the fire of the incoming ships while the massed nuclear weapons of the other warships would strike the enemy vessels, around the six ships the entire shipboard and ground based F302 class fighter squadrons had launched and formed up to assist against the incredible number of incoming Colonial fighters.

"Prometheus to Antarctica Base – come in."

"This is Antarctica Base," the familiar voice of Sam Carter came over the radio, "We're here General."

"Carter?"

"Yes sir, we were transported across by the Odyssey a few minutes ago to keep an eye on the chair platform."

"Status Report."

"Chair and all attached systems are powered up. Sir, three operators are standing by in case we need them. Naquada reactors are fully functional and ready for use."

"What about the drones?"

"Drones numbers less than ten percent sir, maybe enough to defend near Earth orbit but not much else, Gerak's fleet really did a number on the supply we have. Atlantis' request for reinforcements had to be turned down in order to keep the platform viable."

"Any word from Thor?"

"SG-9 still hasn't returned from the remains of Cimmeria, the few Jaffa ships in this arm of the Galaxy are still undergoing repairs or patrolling the damaged planets that Gerak destroyed. They may be able to get a dozen Ha'tak to us sometime tonight, but they aren't too hopeful."

"So it's just us."

"Yes sir, we're on our own for now."

"So what else is new?" O'Neill huffed. "Alright Carter once we engage the Colonials some of their ships will get through, do not let them land troops or anything else. They come anywhere near Earth orbit blow them apart. You better tell the President it seems we have a new war on our hands."

"Good Luck General."

"To all, of us Carter. Prometheus Out."

Turning back to the main bridge he sat down in the center seat of the command podium, Pendergast was at the rear tactical screens coordinating the local squadrons and their own fighter wing. The rest of the ship's personnel were at battle stations simply waiting for their orders. O'Neill had never enjoyed the wars he had had to fight in especially now he knew that he may have to kill tens of thousands of people purely for following the insane machinations of their leaders.

Already the two hundred ships were picking up speed heading towards the assembled ships of the Earth defenses; they were far out of range of the weapons of the Colonial capital ships whilst the enemy ships had entered range of their own more powerful weapons.

"Colonial ships picking up speed General-still in formation. Fighters are leading in, counting at least two thousand fighters incoming. The rest are staying back. Escort squadrons seem to be flanking the fighter swarms, capital ships also staying with the other fighters."

"Status of fighter squadrons?"

"All available squadrons are launched sir, full anti-fighter load outs."

O'Neill sat back in his seat watching the slowly trundling Colonial fleet heading towards Earth, thousands of fighters and hundreds of warships against his pitiful fleet of a half dozen ships and two score squadrons of fighters. With no reinforcements available anywhere near Earth this really was a make or break time for the Tau'ri.

He stared out of the windows in front of him and nodded to himself. "Time to start this. Get the prototype out there. Tactical plan Baker," he ordered. "On the signal launch the prototype, then follow up."

"Aye, sir," Pendergast said, all ships acknowledging plan baker."

"Execute."

The Prometheus' main weapon lit up the sky again as two pulses were sent hurtling towards the Colonial fleet, the two massively powerful energy bolts impacted the port and starboard hanger pods of the forward most Battlestar in the Colonial fleet. The unfortunate Hermes bucked one way and then the other as both the ship's massive hanger bays simply shattered lengthways, the twin bolts traveling down the middle of both nacelles blowing them to scrap and sending debris everywhere.

As the first shots from the Prometheus lanced through the Hermes. The remaining Earth warships began launching the first wave of nuclear missiles headed right for the Colonial fleet. A dozen naquada enhanced weapons spewed from the Daedalus class ships attempting to get close enough to detonate amongst the heavily armored warships.

The first wave of nuclear weapons were intercepted by the fast moving Viper CAP above the warships, the nuclear weapons simply disappeared off the screens of both fleets their warheads unexploded.

"The first wave didn't get through sir; there are too many fighters to intercept our missiles."

"As we thought. Can we send them via the transporter?"

"No, sir. The Asgard still have them locked out as weapons. None of our Asgard technicians are with the fleet."

"Alright Colonel, phase two. Deploy the prototype."

Pendergast looked up at the General, O'Neill was as unhappy about having to deploy the weapon as he was. The deaths of a great many people would upon his hands if this went as planned. Sending orders throughout the bridge the Colonel had the prototype leave the ship and head towards the Colonials.

From the portside flight bay of the unfinished Apollo a four man flight of 302s launched out into space, banking away from the incomplete Daedalus class ship all four fighters pulled away from the main battle and headed out to the left flank away from the battle zone.

"Fury One to Four, you ready, Doberman?"

"This is Four, as ready as I'll ever be."

"Good luck kid, see you on the other side. Countdown to hyper jump six seconds and counting."

"Hyper drive online, systems ready prototype is armed. Activating hyper drive."

A flash of light opened up a hyperspace window the single hyperspace capable 302 launching itself briefly into the impressive faster than light speeds the small craft were capable of. Within seconds the small craft broke out of hyperspace at its target coordinates. In front of him the bulk of the Colonial fleet sat arrayed in close quarters allowing their point defenses to overlap.

"Dude this is the most stupid thing you've ever volunteered for," the pilot said to himself. "Prometheus is this Fury Four, am in position for deployment."

"Fury Four this is O'Neill, you are cleared for deployment. Drop the package kid then return to Daedalus for refuel."

"Roger that Prometheus, prototype locked on. Fury Four, Fox Five."

The highly modified tactical nuclear weapon casing left the underneath of the Earth based star fighter, its rocket engine propelling it away and towards the Colonial fleet. The closest fighters of the CAP screen began their run towards the fighter and it's ejected payload. His job complete however the pilot turned in space and jumped into hyperspace once again back towards his own people.

"Prometheus, payload delivered."

Aboard the Prometheus, O'Neill smiled grimly and nodded to the weapons officer. The Captain looked at his equipment board and transmitted coordinates and go codes to all the ships in the fleet.

"This is Prometheus all ships, begin phase three."

"O'Neill to all fighters, bug out."

Simultaneously the F-302 squadrons turned tails from their intercept course with the incoming hordes of fighters. The preplanned aborted attack was yet another of the intricately planned traps set forward by O'Neill and his staff. The 302s hit their afterburners fleeing the Colonial attack wings pulling away and behind the Daedalus class warships.

As the Earth star fighters pulled away from the engagement zone, four missiles launched from each of the warships of the defense fleet. Twenty four mark seven strategic nuclear weapons accelerated from their silos towards the Viper clouds, within each missile a single warhead wrapped in Naquada was armed and awaiting the order to detonate.

"Time to target."

"Twenty six seconds, enemy fighters are moving to intercept the missiles."

"How many?"

"Only a few dozen on each."

"Wobble them."

"Aye, Sir."

Each of the missiles had been specially refit before they had been supplied to the Air Force starships. The missiles had several more powerful correctional jets for navigational control. It was these modifications that allowed the operators to move the missiles slightly above their current trajectory and as predicted, the Vipers moved again; more of their number swarming to intercept the missiles.

"Time to package."

"Nineteen seconds, enemy fighters are not intercepting."

"One missile against their point defenses seems ridiculous. There's no need to divert entire squadrons from their main attack. If I didn't know what that thing was I'd not bother..."

"Interception of missiles in six… five… four… three…"

"Phase Four. Now."

"All ships detonate."

Almost as one the twenty plus nuclear missiles detonated close to the Vipers, the very closest had let loose a single burst that impacted the rocket booster propelling the closest missile. Hundreds of megatons of nuclear ordinance exploded simultaneously close to the Colonial Viper wings. The giant fireballs sent out shockwaves and radiation in a massive sphere directly into and around the incoming fighters.

Dozens of fighters exploded as the brief explosions lit them up en masse. Yet more shattered under the massive shockwaves that merged and propagated as they crossed ways. Hundreds of fighters were wiped out in the first seconds of the attack. As the explosions cleared, a massive number of fighters began to turn in space or simply follow ballistic courses in multiple vectors.

The rearmost fighters of the formations slowed to a stop as they saw hundreds upon hundreds of their comrades blown apart or cooked within their cockpits. But their hesitation was a mistake as the now stationary fighters made perfect targets for the reengaging Earth star fighters.

"All missiles detonated, enemy scans blinded."

"All fighters engage at will. Captain detonate the package."

"Detonating now."

The single tumbling bomb rapidly approached the Colonial war fleet, its own thruster long burnt out only the momentum of the weapon and the slowly moving Colonial fleet kept the weapon on its course. As the package reached its terminal point the signal from the Prometheus activated the Mk9 'Gate buster' prototype bomb and detonated it less than five kilometers from the very edge of the Colonial fleet.

The blast wave expanded tens of thousands of meters to either side of the epicenter of the explosion, expanding outward and towards the fleet. The Colonials could only watch in horror as the leading ships of the first wave were engulfed in the massively enhanced Naquadria/nuclear detonation. Fighters, Escorts, Raptors even Battlestars were completely shredded by the powerful energy release and shockwaves of the multi teraton explosive.

As the bomb extinguished itself a number of other ships of the fleet underwent the same hell s their smaller fighters had. Blast damage, radiation exposure and flying debris smashed into the hulls of more Colonial ships killing more and more pilots, crewmen, even ships.

"Package detonated; enemy fleet is out of position and blind."

"All ships this is O'Neill, launch Alpha strike. Now."

"All ships are acknowledging, missiles in the air. The 302s are launching against enemy fighters."

Every remaining missile within the Allied ships inventory thundered from their silos as the command override kicked in on every ship. The ripple fire of all seven ships sent over one hundred and twenty nukes into space past the crippled forward defenses of the Colonial war fleet.

_**Colonial Warstar Zeus**_

_**Command Ship**_

_**First Colonial Liberation Fleet**_

"That the frak was that?" screamed Admiral Nagala.

His ship's DRADIS had been blinded by the massive EMP and flash damage of the truly massive nuclear blast that the perverted 'Tau'ri' had sent at his ships. Just before the scans had gone dead the screens had shown entire squadrons of fighters and wings of ships disappear from the formations ahead. The blast wave had slammed into his flagship only seconds later.

"Some kind of massive nuclear detonation Sir. Bigger than anything we've ever seen. DRADIS is dead and so are communications and most primary systems." The ship's officer of the deck pulled the blaring phone from the table in front of him "Yes, understood get the reserves out immediately, we need a picture. Yes all Raptors and Vipers."

Dropping the phone in its cradle the OOD signaled the flight control officers to begin launches of the reserves. Nagala hovered over the DRADIS table almost willing the damaged systems to come back online.

"Admiral?" Nagala looked up at the ship's master Commander Adam Howlett. The younger man stood there arm to his chest awaiting the admiral's attention. "Sixty ships confirmed dead, thirty more damaged. The rest of the fleet is moving up to assist."

The ship was rocked by more shockwaves as the nuclear missiles of the Earth ships began to rain on the blinded flee. A small number of ships had been sheltered by the massive Battlestars allowing them to survive the close range detonation of the Mk9 explosive.

"Do we have running lights?"

"Aye, sir."

"Fleet flash code Alpha. All ships to launch nukes immediately. I want every missile we have up in the air immediately. Any intact capital ships to proceed in and destroy those damned ships immediately."

"Transmitting now, DRADIS is coming back online."

Outside, the escort ships of the forward attack wings were spraying the surrounding space with thousands upon thousands of rounds of flak and anti-fighter rounds. The massed fire shredded the majority of the incoming missiles. Only a very few survived either through luck or the unfortunate aim of the gunners facing them, the surviving missiles detonated in proximity of entire wings of ships sending smaller ships spinning and the larger ships off course altogether. The few hundred surviving Vipers intercepted yet more of the weapons before they could devastate any more of the fleet.

The Colonial's answer was nothing short of spectacular. The majority of the Colonial's missile heavy capital ships had been to the rear of the engagement protected by the battle fleet's forward wings. Hundreds of missiles broke from their launchers and headed straight towards the half dozen Tau'ri ships. The surviving Battlestars and escorts still armed with their own nuclear weapons let their own fly. By now every ship capable had launched their first wave of nuclear weapons towards the Earth ships. The F-302s already in a gradually increasing fur ball with the Vipers were unable to pick off any of the incoming nukes were forced to watch as more than five hundred missiles unerringly headed towards the far flung warships.

"DRADIS online sir, reading multiple launches from all available ships. Wow…"

"Lt?"

"Sorry sir, DRADIS is unable to pick each of the outgoing signals. We've got more than five hundred heading towards the Earth ships all ships have staggered their launches. The Hermes managed to get her missiles off as well. She's still in battle ready condition, sir."

"Flash Commander Graves my regards and inform him to pull back with the other damaged ships. Then begin a full fleet transmission, all ships to regroup behind their moon and then jump out, we need to rethink this campaign."

"We can't just leave sir," the ship's Commander said. "Sir if I'm right the enemy ships can't have many missiles left not at their size, even if they do the defense guns will pick virtually all of them out of the sky."

"Impact's in nine seconds."

"It's that virtually I'm worried about! Those nukes are nothing like we've ever seen. One gets through we could lose thousands more people. We're pulling out."

"Missiles on final approach… Impact."

The six ships of the Tau'ri defense force had started firing their close-in weapons systems in focused cones, the accelerated metallic shards hammering into the missiles. Six, eighteen, thirty, ninety and more fell to the guns of the Prometheus and her Daedalus class escorts.

There was not nearly enough time for the Earth ships to destroy all the massed incoming missiles and even with their weapons still shattering missile after missile the entire group disappeared among close to a hundred nuclear explosions each. Thousands of megatons erupted from the direct hits causing the ships to disappear in nuclear fire. The constant battles between the fighters fell to a standstill as they saw the massed detonations.

Aboard the functional Colonial ships the crews watched as each of their enemies' capital warships were smothered by missiles, the flashes and explosions of each weapon showing up on the DRADIS screens across the Fleet. The Colonial soldiers and crewmen held their collective breaths as the last of the missiles impacted the growing momentary fireball.

Shock rippled through the entire Colonial fleet as the explosions dissipated to reveal all six Earth starships intact. The Prometheus stood at the forefront of the fleet flanked on each axis by each of the Daedalus class. The two unfinished ships looked the worse for wear their shields having let through a limited amount of the atomic energy their incomplete shielding was unable to stop.

"By the Gods!"

"All ships full retreat! Get us out of here!"

"Comms are still down, flash message from the Pegasus. She's taking command of the fleet, ordering a full retreat away from the engagement."

"Helena knows we've lost this engagement. Transfer emergency power to FTL and spool them up. Set course for Valiant Base."

"Aye, sir. Ships are falling back. Enemy ships are advancing, enemy fighters are regrouping. Viper squadrons have been decimated; the survivors are retreating from the battle."

"Flash the Pegasus. Cain is to get everyone else out those ships that can't jump are to be evaced immediately…"

Nagala's orders would never be realized as the entirety of CIC saw a blue flash pass through them then nothing more. The already crippled Warstar began to drift as the Asgard PPC bolt passed through the ship colliding with a destroyer to her flank a perfect hole cut through the very centre of the 'head' of the Warstar.

_**USAF Daedalus**_

_**Daedalus Class Warship**_

"Prometheus has crippled their Command ship. Enemy vessels are pulling back and regrouping. Looks like they are trying to leave."

"Put me through to Prometheus."

_"Strike one! Next one on the list."_

"General O'Neill on the line sir," the Comms officer smirked.

"General, looks like we have them on the run."

"_That we do, I want you and the Korolev to flank us while we make a run on the Colonials. Odyssey will stay behind with the Apollo and Ajax, all 302s will converge on the odyssey's group for defense, and I hope your rail guns are operational."_

"They are, sir. The Colonial missiles only hit the shields but the engineering crews are shoring them up as we speak."

"_You and Colonel Chekov are to follow us in to the flanks concentrate on their smaller escort ships."_

"_Understood General." _The voice of Colonel Chekov echoed over the shared communications channel, the former Russian ambassador to the SGC had been granted command of one of the active Daedalus class ships already in service. "_I assume the Prometheus will be taking on their larger ships."_

"_You assume right Colonel. Our main guns seem to be effective enough. Watch your backs gentlemen this could get messy."_

"_Korolev is ready._

"As are we, General."

The three warships pulled away from their formation and headed for the Colonial ships, behind them the remaining F302s were themselves reforming with the ships staying closer to Earth. Apollo and Ajax were covered by the majority of the fighters, their scorched and battered hulls barely intact and shields gradually firming up as power was redirected and increased to the defense systems. As Prometheus led the charge towards the Colonials, their main Asgard based weapon firing bolts of coherent light into the enemy fleet the other ships of their force began shredding smaller escort ships, surviving fighters and Raptors.

The closest Battlestars turned to the incoming ships unleashing nukes, rail gun slugs, flak and any and all forms of weaponry the Colonials could bring to bare on the fast moving Earth ships. Hundreds of rounds and missiles slammed into the forward shields of the Prometheus, its weakened shields however were more than capable against the limited fire that the Battlestars and their escorts could manage.

"Helm, bring us around to the largest concentration of enemy capital ships. Guns I want surgical strikes on the power plants and engine arrays, let's see if we can't get them to take the hint."

"Aye, sir. Korolev is requesting leave to hit the escorts."

"Denied, keep the group together. They haven't hurt us yet but it doesn't mean that can't. Stay in formation and destroy anything that comes close."

Prometheus banked to starboard the two Daedalus class ships following in her wake, rail guns from all three ships slammed into the smaller escorts again and again. Frigates and destroyers all went up as the fast moving projectiles pierced amour and bulkheads detonating fuel and munitions stores. Raptor and Vipers were cleared as the Earth ships mowed through them like flies.

The Asgard based weapon aboard the Prometheus fired again and again, pulses of energy burning through any ship it encountered. Amour simply vanished as the bolt slammed into the flanks of the cruisers and Battlestars that made up the center of the Colonial formations. Flight bays exploded as the energy bolts set off their stores while the main hulls of ships shattered and melted under the bombardment of energy and projectile fire.

"Main gun power down to twenty percent. We need to pull out to recharge."

"Helm find up a gap," O'Neill ordered. "Comms order our escorts to follow us out."

"Aye, Sir," the two officers answered simultaneously. O'Neill smirked at the echo and turned back to the screen. "Colonel, ship's status?"

"All systems online, shields are almost back to full strength hull is undamaged. Some slight energy feedback occurred through the external sensors and shield generators. All missiles have been used, rail gun ammunition at seventy percent, main gun at fifteen percent."

"Helm get us back to the other ships, we'll…"

"Sir." An officer at the rear of the bridge shouted. "Enemy ships incoming."

"What?"

Outside through the windows of the Prometheus' main bridge O'Neill could only watch as a dozen Colonial ships broke from the very rear of their formation.

"Oh hell."

_**Colonial Battlestar Pegasus**_

_**Mercury Class**_

_**De facto Flagship**_

"Admiral, Commander Cunningham's Squadron has broken formation."

"What? What are they doing?"

"Heading right for the Earth ships Sir. Reading fire from all ship. Nuclear missiles salvos launching from the Battlestars."

"Comms, Signal them, return to formation."

"Trying Sir, they aren't accepting communications. All other ships are pulling back to regroup." The Comms office was interrupted by the collision of their port fighter bay with the tumbling debris of their sister ship, Hydra. "Frak, that was close."

"Put me on." Cain yanked the phone from its cradle.

"Ready, sir."

"Frank, what the hell are you doing?"

The low buzz of an open line was interrupted by the Co of the Atlantia squadron answering. The deep baritone voice of Frank Cunningham came over the line direct to the Combat Center's speakers. "What does it look like Helena? Giving the rest of you a chance to jump out, get whoever can still move and jump. Atlantia out."

"Frank… FRANK. Gods damn it." Cain threw the phone across the DRADIS console the plastic hand piece bouncing across the Perspex surface. Looking back up at the DRADIS readout she turned to the other bridge officers. "Contact all ships, full retreat. Begin jump prep recover any survivors possible and get out. All Vipers and Raptors to land on any ship available."

Once again as she peered at the DRADIS, Cain was forced to merely watch as an old friend began what was nothing more than a suicidal attack on the enemy ships.

The Atlantia's main forward guns were blazing at the rear of the relatively tiny Prometheus, the immense kinetic impacts from their heavy weapons merely bouncing from the intact rear shields. Answering fire from the three Earth warships barely scratched the thick amour of the incoming Colonial capital ships.

Spinning around in as tight a circle as possible the Prometheus brought her main gun to bear on the Battlestars. Whilst the rail guns of all three ships were added to by the incoming second group, the 302s began runs with their remaining missiles trying to buy the warships enough time to position themselves to destroy the Colonial squadron.

Prometheus' main gun sent answering fire towards the rapidly advancing Colonials, the drives of the massive ships increasing their speed with every second. Two Battlestars took a half dozen energy bolts straight on each shattering or exploding as the bolts found critical systems or fuel bunkers. The Daedalus class ships sent rail gun rounds into cracks in the hulls of the larger ships or into the main hulls of the escorts. Five ships were hit in quick succession, their own weapons firing impotently against their foes.

One destroyer took a full salvo of main rail gun fire from a Daedalus class ship. Its port engines detonated wracking the ship with explosions causing damage all along the ship's spine. Heavily on fire as its atmosphere emptied out into the burning sections, the destroyer heaved to, following a half dozen nuclear weapons directly into the damaged shields of the USAF Apollo.

The sheer kinetic impact of the Colonial warship was intense, as the nuclear weapons hit they were simply enhanced by the crushing damage of the Destroyer. The kinetic impact shattered what remained of the Apollo's unfinished shielding, as the shields gave way the last structural integrity of the destroyer disappeared.

All the remaining engines and fuel aboard the unfortunate destroyer met in a massive conflagration, the massive energy burst enveloped the defenseless Apollo crushing its lighter hull completely shredding the Earth warship. In turn as it detonated its own Naquada reactors both ships finally disappeared as the explosion winked out leaving only scattered debris of the two combatants.

_**USAF Prometheus**_

_**Tau'ri Fleet Flagship**_

"Fuck me," a voice came from one of the stunned crewmen on the Prometheus main bridge, the incomplete Apollo had just been rammed by a crippled Colonial ship. Her unfinished and damaged defenses had collapsed from the severe impact of a ship close to its own size. The debris field left was barely enough for a shuttle let alone a pair of warships.

"Bastards," O'Neill forced through gritted teeth. "Continue firing, kill anything in our way."

"Main gun is almost exhausted," the weapons officer responded. "Forward Rail gun ammo is depleted, rear stocks at twenty percent."

Comms spoke up again, "Daedalus and Korolev are reporting close to depletion of current rail gun ammunition, Ajax's missiles are out completely, Odyssey is still firing but are also reporting they are down to minimum. All ships need the chance to change the magazines, sir."

Another Colonial Cruiser went up as the Asgard cannon speared it lengthways, blowing it in half and shattering what remained into debris. Two more bolts slammed into a Battlestar, the much weaker bolts holing the ship but not crippling it. Rail gun fire followed the bolts in scoring the amour but not penetrating into the Battlestar's interior.

"Main gun is depleted, rail guns are depleted, missiles depleted."

"Route power to the main gun take it from wherever you need it. Get the damn thing back up and get those magazines in place."

"Sir, the Korolev..."

The ship's sensors picked up one of the most seriously damaged Battlestars heading straight for the evasive Korolev. The range was too close for the Daedalus class to fully move as the speeding Capital ship slammed straight into its starboard flanking shields. Unlike its unfortunate sister the Apollo the Korolev's defenses were intact and had been reinforced after taking a sizable number of nuclear weapons to its forward shields. As the massive two kilometer long Battlestar hit the shields its self destruct activated, blowing the Colonial ship apart. The ramming damage dropped the shields into the red causing automatic systems to reinforce the damaged shields with more power from secondary systems, it wasn't enough however.

As the explosion propagated the shields, they were broken fully exposing the Korolev to the energy blast of the destructing Battlestar. Already maneuvering wildly the energy blast slammed into the exposed central hull of the Daedalus class warship sending the vessel spinning its hull blackened and melted and its starboard hanger bay shattered.

"Five enemy ships remaining, sir they are heading right for Earth."

"Antarctica Command, this is O'Neill."

"Antarctic Command here, we're receiving you General," Carter's voice filtered over the speakers.

"Sam you've got incoming, five Colonial warships; all heavy bastards."

"Sir we're reading multiple launches, counting thirty three nuclear missiles," the scanner operator said.

"Carter nuclear ordinance incoming," Jack called over the radio, 'Do your stuff."

"We've got it sir, chair platform is online. Targeting both missiles and ships."

All the ships from both of the opposing fleets could only watch as from the huge white expanse of Antarctica a thin column of yellow dots reached up into the air. The first instance that Colonials knew what was coming was the largest of the Battlestars, the Mercury Class Hyperion shattered under the bombardment of hundreds of Ancient drones penetrating it's hull and destroying the ship.

Shock paralyzed both the attacking squadron and the retreating main Colonial fleet. More drones attacked hitting the other ships in the fleet or annihilating the nuclear weapons already launched against Earth.

_**Colonial Battlestar Pegasus**_

_**Mercury Class**_

_**De facto Flagship**_

"What the frak was that?" Cain shouted. "DRADIS!"

"Unknown, sir. Whatever they are it's like nothing we've ever seen."

"Continue retreat orders, jump as soon as possible."

"Wait sir, look!"

The massive column of drones petered out as the last of the Battlestars went down, the nukes also vanishing from their trajectory. "Enemy defenses have stopped firing."

"What about their ships?"

"Also have stopped firing."

"We're still reading a number of nukes outbound sir, the blasts of the others detonating must have blinded their own DRADIS, or whatever they use."

"This has been one clusterfrak after another. All ships continue the retreat. I don't want to lose any more ships that I don't have to. Orders are to jump when ready,

_**USAF Prometheus.**_

_**Tau'ri Fleet Flagship**_

"Carter what's going on?"

"Mk two reactor scrammed sir, there was a spike and it shut down, we're trying to get the secondary reactor running now."

"Incoming enemy fire," a voice shouted from the sensor station. "Two hundred nuclear missiles incoming."

"Carter!"

"I know."

"What about those two escorts?"

"Both are unpowered and drifting sir, no energy sources detected. I think the life support's offline too."

O'Neill was more than tempted to leave the Colonial crews to die of suffocation aboard their ships, however the rules that they were governed by still counted even against this new enemy. He was forced to consider the options of destroying them or saving the crews on those ships."

"All ships this is Prometheus…"

"SIR!" the scanner operator shouted loudly. "There's still nukes heading for the surface."

"What? How?"

"I don't know sir, but we missed them."

"Carter!"

"Power up in thirty…"

"We don't have thirty! All ships. This is Prometheus, 302s get those nukes. All other ships keep in formation, Helm take us after those nukes and reduce power to the main gun. We don't want to blast a city if we miss."

"Aye, sir."

"Aye, sir."

The Prometheus pulled away from the depleted squadron, the small battle cruiser accelerated towards Earth the remaining fighters of the Earth forces already entering the gravity well. They were already quite a distance behind the missiles and their smaller engines unable to close the distance between them and the nuclear weapons in time.

Pulse weapon firing the Prometheus began to take down the missiles one by one the heavily reduced energy weapon shattering a missile per shot. A few 302s got lucky hits with their forward cannons killing a few more. However the numbers involved were too many and too far, even as the defense outpost beneath the ice began to power up the remaining nukes broke through the outer atmosphere and sailed trough the air.

Four fifty megaton nuclear weapons crashed into the surface of the Earth. The cities of Johannesburg, Venice, St Petersburg and Hong Kong vanished in balls of nuclear fire. The shockwaves and fireballs expanded out one hundred fifty to two hundred miles in all directions depending on the terrain. Everything within the next hundred miles died in the flash burn that followed. More than one hundred million people perished in the detonations. Mushroom clouds twenty miles high appeared above the flattened ruins of those cities.

The combined shockwaves propagated across the surface of the planet setting off seismographs in every country in the world. The ocean around Hong Kong vaporized in the fireball causing the water to rush into the space made by the loss of water. As the ocean rushed in, the shockwave slammed into the rushing water turning the wave back and pushing it further and further away.

Within minutes, a circular tsunami larger than any on record was rushing away from the remains of the island, hundreds of thousands more people died as the tidal waves swamped the coasts of china and much of the Japanese home islands. Another wave appeared in the Mediterranean as water in and around Venice was superheated causing the shockwaves to force the churning waters back into the sea.

Aboard the five remaining SGC warships the crews could only watch the devastation on the surface of their home, shock and sheer horror rippled through every ship as the sensors picked up the detonations and the aftermath of the strikes. Seismic shocks were already rippling across the world causing upheavals on the nearest tectonic plates, the tidal waves were already doing their damage as were the firestorms that made up the aftermath of the nuclear detonations.

O'Neill closed his eyes at the carnage below him. He had seen and even used nuclear weapons against his enemy but he had never had to witness such insane damage to the civilian populations of any world. He had seen the consequences of some wars and planets wiped out but had never been forced to watch as millions of his own people were wiped out.

"Tactical, do we have any power in the main gun?"

"S..Sir?"

"Do we have any goddamn power in the main gun!?"

"Yes sir, half power."

"Target those two destroyers and kill them."

"Sir?"

"Kill those bastards, then target anything else we can get in range and kill 'em."

The Tactical officer looked out the front windows of the bridge then turned to O'Neill his face hardening. The officer merely turned to his console and targeted the two Colonial destroyers. The two drifting warships were all but dead in space, the front end of the Prometheus lit up and two pulses burst out directly into the central hulls of both escorts. Both ships exploded as they were skewered by the energy bolts, hulls compromised and engines exposed the destroyers merely imploded killing their crews and leaving little more than a debris field in high Earth orbit.

"Reroute shield power and hyper drive power to the main gun."

The tactical officer called to engineering, "main gun is approaching full power Sir," he told O'Neill.

O'Neill Looked at the tactical display at the rear of the bridge, the display screens had every ship in both fleets represented. The massive number of Colonial signals had been cut down immensely in the hour long battle, his face set itself like stone and he turned to the tactical officer.

"Kill anything you find Lt."

"Aye, sir. Gladly."

The Prometheus pulled away from Earth and away from the other ships in the fleet. Their remaining weapons however could barely scratched the thick amour of the capital scale ships of the Colonial fleet, this meant they would be little more than mobile targets. Their biggest advantage at the moment was their very presence in Earth orbit, the psychological advantage was theirs.

_**Colonial Battlestar Pegasus**_

_**Mercury Class**_

_**De facto Flagship**_

"Oh frak."

"Captain?'

"Sir the smaller ship is coming right for the fleet on an attack vector, they've just destroyed the disabled ships in their orbit." The DRADIS signal disrupted as one of the flanking Battlestars exploded under fire from the Prometheus, the EMP of the detonation fried the electronics throughout the port flank of the Pegasus. "They've targeted our heavy ships."

A second shudder came through the bulkheads as an escort ship exploded as its engines were exposed by the powerful energy weapon. More debris and shrapnel peppered the already crippled port side of the flagship. The entire port flight pod had been penetrated throughout its length by amour and hull fragments and as it stood the Pegasus' defenses were down to less than half their original number.

Another burst of fire shattered the only other Warstar within the fleet, punching through the immensely heavy amour as if it were the fuselage of a freighter. Two of the four flight bays broke in half as a pulse pierced straight through them and detonated within the upper bay.

"Frak!" Cain shouted. "Send to all ships, jump now. Everyone jump!"

Across the remaining field of combat more energy pulses flew towards the Colonial ships, rapidly followed by the Prometheus herself, bearing down on the battle fleet. The Colonial crews could only watch as ship after ship came apart under bombardment. What remained of the nuclear stockpiles and heavy cannon fire slammed into the weakened shields but still to no avail.

Flashes appeared across the remnants of the devastated Colonial fleet. Singularly or in groups the routed armada disappeared from the sensor screens of the Earth fleet and the Earth based telescopes that could see them. As the Pegasus entered FTL a single bolt passed through where she had sat only moments ago, within seconds the last of the FTL capable ships had jumped out beyond the limit of the solar system.

Silence reigned across the Earth ships, weapons had ceased firing and incoming fire had been stopped flat by the shields of each vessel. On the bridge of the Prometheus Jack O'Neill flopped down into his chair and looked out of the window at the immense debris field full of wrecks and detritus all from the aftermath of the battle.

_**USAF Prometheus**_

_**Tau'ri Fleet Flagship**_

"Is there anyone else left out there?" he asked

"Negative sir, all Colonial ships have left the system. We're reading life signs on a few of the more intact ships and a few fighters crippled or disabled, but nothing else."

"The Apollo and the Korolev?"

"The Apollo exploded when she was rammed, no survivors. Korolev has stabilized. It's over Sir."

"Keep full scans across the system. I don't want those bastards returning when our pants are down."

"Yes, sir."

"God forgive us, the people down there won't for what we allowed to happen today."


	2. Chapter One

_**Chapter One**_

_**The Aftermath**_

The assembly point for the Colonial fleet had been chosen carefully by the Colonial command; their limited knowledge of the Earth ships' abilities had forced them to use a base of operations a good few hundred light years from the Earth's Solar system. With the Colonies so far from their target the fleet had been forced to create a long and complicated supply chain.

At the very end of the chain was a prefabricated base built piece by piece by the Colonial Army Corps of Engineers. Supplies, fuel, weapons, spares even fighters and Raptors had been offloaded and brought to the station, or its supply docks by the fleet trains that accompanied the fleet from each of the large supply points throughout that region of space.

Fighter and Raptor patrols flit around the deep space station watching the orbit of the small Colonial class planet that the station had been secured around, in amongst the spindly stations and the huge supply docks in orbit the base's defense ships sailed their own DRADIS scans flooding local space with electromagnetic radiation. Destroyers and cruisers drifted throughout the system powered down, their scans at minimum power watching the edges of the system.

Within the outer orbit of the planet close to the edge of the gravity well the capital ships of the defense force floated stationary in space, a small number of Battlestars and cruisers sat in formation. While much smaller than the fleet that had been dispatched only a few days ago the defense force was more than enough to fight any force the thirteenth colony would have been able to send their way after the main force mauled them.

At the command station's main dock the defense force flagship sat under refit, like the rest of the ships that remained they had been pushed harder than most in order to scout the area before the main body of the fleet had turned up. The Guardian Class Battlestar Valkyrie was docked to the command station, umbilicals and airlocks linked across its hull and throughout its flight bays.

The tranquility of the station and its surrounding defenses was stripped away as alert beacons and sirens on every Colonial facility and ship began to blare. Already the alert Vipers on the warships and command station began to deploy as more and more signals dropped into the system. DRADIS systems were already locking down the signals, guns and nuclear ordinance all trained on the unidentified signals.

Aboard the station the crew had sprung to their battle stations within seconds of the signals tripping the sentry alarms, the massive DRADIS screens were manned and ready whilst the gun batteries were answering the all crew calls. The station's Commander strode out from her office into the main Combat Control room amongst a wave of organized chaos.

The room was a massive affair much larger than any warship's Combat Center it rivaled the stations in orbit around the inner colonies of the Cyrannus sector. Readouts of each of the major stations and the defense posts strewn throughout the star system they had claimed for the liberation of the Planet Earth.

"Status Report," Commander Diane Anders ordered. She was pleased to see her crew already at their stations and transmitting standard orders throughout her base. The Station's executive officer strode up to the commander handing her a report. "Any positive identification Colonel?"

"Not yet Sir. The signals are still several light seconds out from radio range, standard hails are being transmitted as we speak."

"Where's Adama?"

"The Valkyrie is still undergoing refit, however Commander Adama has returned to his ship to help coordinate from there."

"Get him on the line."

"Comms channel to Valkyrie immediately."

"Valkyrie already on the line, Sir."

"Patch me through," Anders ordered, she heard the slight click as the channel was opened between her command table and the CIC aboard the flagship Battlestar. "Commander Adama, are you receiving?"

"Affirmative Command, loud and clear."

"Status of your ship Commander."

"The old girl's engines are down so is the FTL drive and the majority of the missile systems. We've got flak and defense guns only as of this time. Chief Booth has a thirty minute estimate on main systems online."

"We may need you out there Husker, get your ship as ready as you can and retake command." Anders' was interrupted by the exec signaling her. "Hang on Bill, something's up. Colonel?"

"We're getting a response from the incoming signals, Colonial IFFs."

"Already? They should still be in the Earth solar system."

"Affirmative sir, however as signals are delayed and overlapping we haven't been able to get a full count of the entire fleet. Sir we've only picked up forty three separate signals."

"Forty three?"

"Yes sir."

"The only way they could have returned this quickly was if they were sent back the same day they went in to liberate the Earth humans from their false religions. That world would not have capitulated so easily even with their small feeble ships that we have encountered."

"Count has risen to sixty three Sir. Signals are separating." The Man's hand went to his headset and nodded. "Do so, Commander the incoming ships are requesting clearance for intersystem jump to high orbit."

"Granted, send them the signal. Husker you get all that?"

"Roger Commander, the other ships have been ordered in. We're clearing the area now."

The powerful engines of the Colonial capital ships sent them well away from the orbital planes, only seconds later the first of the returning fleet appeared in the characteristic flash of their faster than light drives. The wave of escorts took their defensive positions ahead of the main group, the destroyers and frigates looked pristine and undamaged as functional as the day they left.

Then the bottom fell out.

Another group of flashes heralded the arrival of the next wave of the returning ships appeared behind the escort formation, shock rippled through the watching warships and the command stations. The Battlestars and cruisers that arrived looked in a complete mess as burns and rips decorated the sides of their hulls. Shrapnel looked imbedded or fused to the bays of many of the ships while others were missing entire sections of those same pods. Half a dozen of the Battlestars were missing one or both of their flight bays. Charred metal hanging from the remaining struts of most of the ships gave testament to the pure carnage that the fleet must have been through for such damage to be evident. Yet more ships were missing engine pods or sections of their hulls, it was amazing to the crews of the assembly point that some of the ships were even still spaceworthy let alone capable of FTL travel.

In smaller and smaller groups the rest of the returning force jumped into the inner system from the perimeter, cruisers and escorts made up the majority of the surviving ships, their hulls cracked and burnt leaking fluids and oxygen from damaged sections that had been stressed far beyond their ability to survive during the repeated FTL jumps. More Battlestars brought up the rear as the last of the sixty ships that had jumped into the system finally appeared.

The survivors were in a sorry state. Less than twenty warships were undamaged or in fully battle ready conditions. The rest of the Colonial vessels were too badly damaged or depleted to be of much use to the survivors. Paradoxically, the Battlestars were the most badly damaged as opposed to the smaller less well armored escorts.

Few of the surviving Battlestars were capable of moving under their own power many only just capable of FTL drive use, unable to propel themselves several of the warships simply sat in space drifting away from the main fleet. A number of cables began to wheel out from the rears of the larger ships in order to tow the smaller warships or in numbers the Battlestars towards the fleet station itself.

"My gods," a voice said from the rear of the command deck. "What the frak happened?"

"I don't know," the commander growled. "But I'm sure as hades going to find out. Valkyrie this is Command."

"We're still here, Sphinx."

"Are you getting these readings?"

"We're getting a direct DRADIS and Visual from the station's cameras. It looks like only a few of the Capital ships are even close to battle capable. We're reading an altered IFF of from the Battlestar Pegasus. She must be designated as their command ship for some reason."

"How far are you from launch?"

"Still a good twenty minutes."

"Alright, get your ship as ready as you can Commander and fast. We're gonna need every hand possible out there. We'll send out as many raptors and shuttles as we can to bring the damaged ships in." She turned to the stations communications center and ordered the entire station's auxiliary craft to deploy to assist the damaged ships. "Recall all ships in system we'll need them, Adama once your ship is functional take up position with the Pegasus."

"Roger that, we'll let you know when we're a go."

"Good Luck Husker, Command out."

"Valkyrie Clear."

From the lower decks of the station as well as from the secondary stations and the functional warships secondary craft ranging from Raptors to shuttles to tugs and hospital launches began streaming out towards the crippled Colonial fleet. Those few ships with active flight decks accepted the smaller shuttles and raptors allowing the medical and damage control crews to spread out throughout the larger ships. Those ships without active bays allowed the larger medical launches and tugs to hard dock on the numerous airlocks that dotted across the ship, wounded were moved away from the makeshift hospital wards in the central sections of the vessels and out to the incoming shuttles.

The bodies of the dead had been piled up head high in some deck spaces, the rooms sealed against the inevitable smells of the dead and burnt flesh that would emanate from those bodies. When there was time the bodies would be removed by the crew and given their rightful burial that every space hand deserved. As it was the understaffed warships were desperately getting their injured and dying off the decks and to the myriad stations in the system.

More flashes of light appeared at the edge of the fleet as the recalled warships began to reappear around the newly arrived casualties, lending their assistance to their beleaguered comrades yet more shuttles and raptors steamed out from the defense force. The intact ships of the fleet were forced to separate from the crippled vessels their presence hampering the relief efforts.

The remaining flight decks of each of the capital ships were scenes of unabridged chaos as the auxiliary craft began their landings. Most had barely stopped before they were inundated with the injured and the dying. As teams of engineers and medics streamed out they were quickly replaced by those that needed care the warships couldn't provide. It was literally only minutes before the first wave of raptors launched again their hulls stuffed with the walking wounded.

Tugs and smaller warships latched onto the larger ships their cables and forced docking allowing them to steady the listing Battlestars or crippled escorts, aboard the Battlestar Pegasus the fleet's erstwhile Commander stared at the remnants of the most powerful fleet every constructed by the Colonials.

"Three hours, that's all it took."

"Admiral?"

"Yes Major, what is it?"

Major Fisk walked up to the DRADIS table a series of communiqués in his hand. "The Valkyrie has broken dock and is headed for us, Commander Adama wishes to board the Pegasus for a situation report."

"Tell him granted, then contact the Command station and tell them once we've repaired enough ships that we need to evacuate the system and return to the Colonies."

"Yes Sir, we've also had requests from several of the other ships to take on salvaged vipers if possible. At least two ships need the space and others are worried their flight bays will give out."

"How many did we pick up on the way out?"

"Two hundred twenty three, we can take on more but it'll be cramped."

"Authorize the transfer then have the rest head for the defense fleet ships or the station."

Fisk nodded and walked away from the DRADIS table and began issuing orders. Colonel Tolan returned to his place at the DRADIS table watching the scans as they picked up the other ships in the fleet. One large signal had entered the close airspace of the Pegasus herself, the signal identifying her as a Guardian Class Battlestar.

"We're going to evac Jeff," Cain whispered rubbing her red rimmed eyes weary after so little sleep since the battle. "We can't go up against that kind of firepower again."

"What happened Sir? They shouldn't have been able to hold us like they did, let alone massacre the fleet, or our fighters."

'We were arrogant Jeff. We thought we were big and powerful enough to take on one planet with minimal naval power. We were wrong and we took the casualties for our hubris. The Gods know what will happen next or what the Tau'ri will do to us if they find the station before we can leave."

"We don't have enough ships to evacuate even if we can salvage all the other ships in the fleet, not without cramming them all into the flight decks or the storerooms. We'd need to eject the Vipers and munitions to do so."

"If we have to do that, we'll do it. I will not leave anyone behind to the predilections of those psychotic Tau'ri monsters. When his raptor boards, have Commander Adama brought to my stateroom as soon as possible."

"Yes Sir."

"Have the ship go to condition two and stay there until I say otherwise. I want us battle ready in case any of those warships manage to follow us. I'll be in my quarters."

With that Cain retired to her quarters, minutes later she walked into her stateroom and collapsed on the large chair she kept in her quarters. As much as she disliked chairs in her briefing rooms and command centers here she was willing to let her rules slip slightly and furnish her quarters as she saw fit. Ancient weapons and military mementos were her choice of décor. Paintings of old victories and stylized battles of the Cylon war were centerpieces as were the old Caprican black powder weapons handed down through her family.

A decanter of old and potent Canceron whisky stood on the table in front of her. She had been liquor free for a good few months ever since Garris 'Juggernaut' Cain her father had died of liver failure a few years before hand. She had been commissioned to the admiralty. Emptying a few drops into the tumbler Cain sat back and merely looked at the liquid, the bottle had been a gift from Garris on her promotion to Commander years ago. But like so much of her life the gift was almost as absent from her thoughts as her father.

Deciding against imbibing the liquid she slid the glass back onto the table and leant back again rubbing her eyes against the bone weary fatigue left after the day long adrenaline rush had finally abated. She jolted from her fugue state as a knock came from the airtight hatch to her quarters. Rubbing her eyes again she stood up and adjusted her clothing.

"Enter," she called

The door opened and Tolan walked into the room followed closely by Commander William Adama and his own executive officer Colonel Saul Tigh. She had never met either officer outside of routine communications between their respective Battlestars but knew both from their exploits at the end of the war. Adama as the CAG of her Father's original Pegasus and Tigh from his miraculous survival from two ships boarded by the Cylons.

"Admiral," Adama said

"Commander, Colonel, Mr. Tolan. Please secure the door."

"Aye sir."

As Tolan locked the door she invited the others to settle themselves wherever there was room. Two chairs sat by her desk allowing the visitors to sit however Tolan stayed at parade ease next to the hatch.

"Admiral, I've been ordered by the Command Station's Commanding officer to request a full report from the acting senior officer of this flotilla. Your IFF has been reprogrammed to acknowledge the Pegasus as fleet flagship. As such I have been authorized to request a full report from both yourself, your exec and the ship's logs."

"I'm aware of the regulations Commander, we've not had much of a chance to put down any serious reports or logs since the battle to retake Earth. The ship's records of the battle as well as those of the other ships will be bad available as soon as possible, but it will take some time to get the reports together."

Adama nodded then sat back in his chair, the Admiral was tired but he had to know what had happened. He looked to Tigh who merely stood up and walked over to Tolan. Keeping his voice low he managed to get Tolan out of the room leaving just the two ship's Commanders to talk.

"What happened Admiral? You left with two hundred ships, there's nothing this side of a Cylon Armada that could have done this much damage to your ships, what happened to the rest of the fleet?"

"Bill, we royally frakked up that's what happened." Cain whispered, bringing her head up from her hands she looked Adama straight in the eyes. "We thought we were better, stronger and on a mission ordained by the Gods. Maybe we were but it seems that their mission was the greater of either of ours. They had six ships and maybe seventy odd fighters that I could see against our entire fleet."

"It should have been a massacre."

"It was, just not for them. They detonated something off the bow of the Olympus, and it shattered more than thirty ships before we even fired a shot. Their missiles were insane! Even one hit would kill a Battlestar taking anything around it. Even when they exhausted their missile stores that damned Prometheus had some kind of energy weapon that blew apart any ship it touched or simply surgically killed command and control centers. We couldn't touch them even with alpha strikes from a dozen cruisers. Bill, we hit their ships with gigatons of nukes and they just took it," she said. "Their fighters just shredded squadron after squadron of vipers from beyond our range. More were obliterated by their missiles detonating amidst the swarms of fighters we launched."

"Is this fleet all that remains of the force we sent?"

"Everything that could get our yes, I know some ships had survivors or were merely crippled but we had to save what we could. Gods know how many we were forced to leave behind dying dead or just needing help."

"Alright what about their fleet, did we do anything to them that could mean they wouldn't try to stand against us again?"

"You don't understand Commander, just one more ship, one more energy weapon or a few more squadrons of fighters and none of us would have gotten out of there alive. We took out maybe one of their ships and possibly another through suicide tactics. We couldn't even get close enough to get into gun range let alone kill them. We need to leave Bill before the Earth people come after us, because if they attack there's no way this station or anyone in this system will survive them."

"What's the chances of them finding us?"

"About as much chance as anyone, they are faster and more maneuverable than our ships and some of their fighters seem to have a form of FTL drive small enough to send them across small distances at the very least. If they have enough of them they could find us in short order, We'd be lucky to overwhelm even one of their ships with what we have left in the fleet."

"Naval Command is going to want physical reports both electronic and hard copy as soon as possible. it looks like its going to take a while to sort out the total casualties we've taken. The Valkyrie and the rest of the battle group will be at the disposal of your flagship if and when necessary. We'll reconvene a meeting on the command station in twenty four hours we'll have a more complete view of what needs to be done by then."

"Understood Commander, we'll be there."

"Until then, look after your people Helena because if I'm right then we've made one hell of a mistake and we're going to need all the help we can get."

**Colonial Command Station**

**Unknown System**

"Commander, the defense force has begun operations to each of the damaged ships that made it back. The Pegasus and Hamunaptra are coordinating the relief efforts of both fleets. The medical wards on each station and ship is filled to capacity and resources are being stretched thin. Doctor Howard has sent up his latest reports from sickbay…"

The station rocked as a fireball expanded outwards from the very far edge of the assembled fleet ships. One of the critically damaged Battlestars had finally lost containment on their engines. The engines and reactors had detonated lighting up the ship's fuel supplies both for the main drives and the aerospace fuel causing the rest of the ship to disappear in a fireball.

Smaller shuttles and Raptors were caught in the blast wave sending them careening into space or shredded by shrapnel. Others were blown off course crashing into the already damaged ships surrounding the now lost Battlestar. As the blast cleared there was little left of the two kilometer long warship than the twisted and burnt metal that had once made up parts of the skeletal structure.

"What the hell just happened?" the Commander shouted. "Status report."

"The Champion just went up, some kind of engine breach in her main drives. When they exploded the rest of ship went with her – no chance of survivors, sir."

"How many people were aboard?"

"Most of the crew had been killed . The majority of the wounded were already off but there was still close to five hundred people on board including medical shuttles."

"Frak" was the only answer she could give. "Any damaged ships are to shut down propulsion and primary reactors immediately. Go to secondary power if they have to but I want no more frak ups to kill our people. Launch vipers for a full search of the area SAR protocols. Get me the Pegasus."

"Pegasus online, sir."

"Pegasus this in Command Station, SITREP," she ordered.

"Command this is Pegasus, what in Hades just happened?" The voice of Major Fisk came from the speakers, in the background the echo of a voice calling Cain to the command center could be heard. "We got disruption on the DRADIS then something rocked the ship."

"Pegasus, we just lost the Champion to an engine core breach."

"Frakking hades, just what we need. What are your orders, sir."

"All damaged ships are being ordered to power down their reactors and engine systems and wait for assistance, this includes Pegasus Major."

"Our engines and reactors weren't hit in the fight Sir, we took some damage to the outer armor and minor decompression put we're fully combat capable., Fisk said. "If we shut down it'll take us hours to restart the systems."

"I'm aware of that Major, but we can't risk another explosion like that destroying more ships. Shut down your systems and go to emergency power, I need to talk to Admiral Cain and Commander Adama."

"Both have been paged to the CIC Sir. It'll take a few minutes for them to get here."

"Understood Major." She turned to the communications station. "Transfer this channel to my ready room and secure the line."

"Yes sir."

Seconds ticked by as the Commander was forced to wait on the muted channel. All she could do was stare out of the massive reinforced Plexiglas windows that made up one side of her Ready room/quarters. The images of the mauled war fleet were horrific, so much damage to so many ships crushed her. What disturbed her thoughts even more was the fact that these crippled and decimated forces were the lucky ones. The ships that had made it back after taking such immense casualties against a foe that shouldn't have been such a threat made the scene even more depressing. Streams of shuttles were still running from ship to ship, depositing what medical staff and supplies could be spared from their sisters as well as the myriad of stations that made up the forward base. They were woefully inadequate for the sheer scale of carnage that she could see.

The now empty supply and cargo bays were rapidly filling with the injured or the dead. Bodies were piled on top of each other to get them off of the ships before they could start to decompose. Once this was over they would somehow send the bodies into space towards the system's star and it would take time but that was something that they did not have in abundance.

"Commander, Admiral Cain is on the line."

"Put her through."

"Commander Anders, what's this I'm hearing about shutting down my ships' major systems?"

"That's correct all damaged ships are being shut down until we can be sure we won't have another explosion, Champion's loss caused massive damage on the periphery we can't risk that anywhere close to the intact ships. We're moving the crippled capital ships apart and the escorts are being shut down completely, we don't have much time if the reports we've been getting are correct Admiral."

" Understood, Pegasus is shutting down main drives and reactors. What about FTL systems?"

"Keep them online and tie them into emergency power, if we need to get out fast I don't want anyone left behind if we can help it. Commander Adama."

"Yes Sir."

"I need the Valkyrie to stay with the Pegasus to render assistance should it become necessary. We're woefully under equipped for this scale or rescue operations this far from home. I'm sending orders to the rest of the supply chain to send us anything they can to help but it'll be a few days before anyone can get to us. Until then we're on our own."

"Sir what about the planet?" Adama asked. "Did the survey teams come back with anything?"

"It's useless to us Commander, some airborne pathogen seems to have wiped out all animal life on the surface. The survey teams didn't return."

"Ahh frak."

"We're stuck with whatever equipment we have for the moment Commander. Once we have enough ships repaired, we'll send the critical cases on those that can take them without compromising our defenses."

"And then?" Cain asked.

"Then Admiral, we and destroy this base and everything we have to leave behind , then return to the colonies."

_**USAF Prometheus**_

_**Earth Fleet Flagship**_

_**Earth Orbit**_

Over Earth the remaining ships of the Earth's defense fleet orbited silently. They had spent most of the last few hours reloading their ammunition supplies and repairing what damage they had taken. The Korolev and Ajax had had to be carefully dropped from orbit with assistance from her sister ships. The damage received by either ship had rendered them incapable of returning to dock on their own.

The few remaining hull sections of the Apollo had been gathered up by the other ships and transported down to the tarmac outside of Area 51, even with the plainly visible battle above the planet the forces of the SGC and their allied nations still had to maintain their cover, if possible. The electronic warfare systems of the Daedalus class ships had been enough to keep most of the world from knowing the positions of the construction bays. However it was evident that they would be sought out by the public to find out the truth about the ships and those that built them.

Losses and damage had reduced the fleet to three fully operational ships and a handful of functional fighter squadrons and each crewman and pilot knew that if another attack was to take place that they would be unlikely to survive. They had lost a massive amount of their available forces to the Colonials. Even with the technological advantage they would be unable to defend Earth and its people.

The Prometheus had stayed in orbit above the impact zone within mainland Europe. Their position has allowed them to send a few thousand emergency personnel to desperate cities as well as retrieve or transfer soldiers, medical workers, injured people and supplies between different areas of the planet. Several of the more intact 302 squadrons had been rearmed and fueled. They currently patrolled the lunar orbital plane for any signs of hidden ships or incoming signals. Any other operational fighters flitted between the three warships patrolling the orbit and taking pot shots at any unexploded ordinance or out of control Colonial craft that entered the atmosphere.

Far below the orbiting American warships the surface of the planet was in chaos. Much of the Eastern Hemisphere was clouded with dust and fire as the aftermath of the detonations became evident. Billions of tons of earth and rock had been pulverized, then scattered and thrown into the air by the shockwaves and fireballs that were the legacy of the four missiles. All of the impact sites were hidden below the clouds of smoke and dust encompassing the majority of that part of the world. Immense fires were still burning at the periphery of the craters and even the deep winter of Russia had been insufficient to totally extinguish the fire. It was fortunate that the heavy snow and wind had managed to dampen the burning fires down to almost manageable levels.

"General?"

Jack O'Neill looked up from his position against the windows of the Prometheus. The devastation of the planet was on his shoulders now. He had led the combined defenses of Earth against the Colonials and now millions had been murdered by the few missiles that had escaped the cordon he had thrown up around the enemy fleet.

Exhaustion was evident on his face as the true weight of what had happened had been discovered. O'Neill was still commanding the fleet especially in the hours after the cataclysm that had hit them. Already he had been in communication with the SGC allied stations worldwide as well as the ancient platform attempting to tie the defenses back into some sort of order.

"What is it Major?" he asked the ship's exec

"The reports from the surface have been confirmed, the fallout is reaching fatal proportions across parts of the Eurasian continent. All vessels in the Southern Atlantic have been diverted away from the African Horn. The radiation from Johannesburg is beginning to drift out to sea."

"What's the status of the other ships in the fleet?"

Hesitating Major Boothroyd removed her hands from her keyboard, steeling herself she spoke to O'Neill already wary of his irritable and angry mood.

"Sir, permission to speak freely?"

"Go on Major."

"Sir, you've been in command since before the attack…"

"No Major."

"Sir, it is my opinion that you are approaching exhaustion…"

"I SAID NO!" O'Neill barked.

The bridge of the warship went silent as the shout interrupted the rest of the crew, Jack stood ramrod straight and stared at the executive officer. A stare that had cowed more than one junior officer bored into the woman's dark eyes, her gaze unflinching from his own.

"Sir, under the military articles if you do not stand down and rest I will be forced to remove you of command as I believe you to be incapable of commanding under current circumstances. Now Stand down, or I shall have you removed from the bridge under marine escort."

"I…" O'Neill's anger was palpable, however whatever tirade he was planning upon was ceased by another voice coming from the rear of the bridge itself. Communications had been established with the Pentagon and they were requesting clearance to send up an observer for the Pentagon staff.

The familiar white light of the Asgard based technology faded out leaving Major Paul Davis in her place. He had been sent to the Prometheus on behalf of the President. His position as liaison between the Pentagon and the SGC had meant he was the most capable to sort out the reports that had been coming from the fleet. O'Neill shot a glare at Boothroyd informing the officer that this was not over yet.

"Major Davis," O'Neill said. "How are things going down there."

"To be honest Sir it's not good. The upheavals of the Colonial Transmission as effected most of the world. The damage caused by the nuclear detonations is still being determined but Sir It's not good. The majority of the upper pacific rim has been swamped or covered in nuclear fallout."

"What about casualties?"

"It'll take years to get an accurate count but the earliest projections are over one hundred million dead, another fifty million within a month."

"Shit."

"There's a number of upsets along the tectonic plates as well as the majority of the volcano chains around the areas that were hit. The entire Vesuvius-Etna chain have begun to smoke and rumble over the last day. We may be looking at a full scale eruption of the majority of European and Asian volcanoes near the craters. It's a hell of a mess Sir, we don't have the resources to save most of the injured or dying. The President has decided that as the cat is out of the bag as it were that a certain amount of disclosure will be necessary to inform the world of what in fact happened. It appears that the first reports are already leaking out, photos of our ships landing in Nevada and off the Scottish coast have been printed in a number of newspapers."

"So we're going to disclose the Stargate?" Boothroyd asked.

"The President is leaving the final decisions for after the countries involved have started to calm down, he wants General O'Neill's input as well as that of Generals Hammond and Landry over how to approach this. We… we didn't foresee that this was how disclosure would happen, although maybe we should have."

"Yeah we should have. We let our guard down and got bit in the ass," O'Neill grumbled

The two were interrupted by a trio of ships dropping from a hyperspace window high above the orbital plane of the planet, the view still awe inspiring even after the number of times jack had been aboard those ships. The three Asgard ships slowed to a full stop several thousand miles from the USAF warships, the huge bulk of the O'Neill class ship dwarfing its twin escorts.

Jack had to suppress a smirk as he recognized the two smaller 'science ships' of the Asgard squadron, named after his friend Daniel Jackson; a scientist name for a science ship O'Neill mused. He still preferred the O'Neill Class. It just screamed 'don't piss me off.'

"Seems we have guests," Davis said watching the three vessels hovering above the human fleet. His shocked look made Jack's day somewhat more bearable that it had been thus far. "Those are big ships."

A flash of light appeared in front of the two men the characteristic sound of the Asgard beam emitted as the passenger dropped into sight, a single Asgard sat in his command throne blinking at the human crew.

"Greetings O'Neill, Major Davis."

"Thor buddy, glad you could drop in."

"Commander Thor," Davis nodded.

"I am sorry we were unable to assist you against the enemy that invaded your space. We were unable to get any of our ships within range in time. I see now that was very much a tragedy." Thor nodded his head slowly. "We will do what we can to save those that need our assistance as well as to clean up what we can of the radiation infecting your world."

"That would be a great help Thor. It's a hell of a state down there."

"It is the least we can do after what Stargate Command has done for the Asgard race over the years. Our ships however may be detected at the ranges that we will have to drop to in order to begin efficient clean up of your world. At that distance we may be visible to visual as well as electrical scans. However with the damage your people have taken however this may be unavoidable to an extent." Thor clinked slowly then looked to the window. "We have also received the transmission that the Colonial forces sent towards Earth. This is why we have approached from range as we believed that your ships may be wary of any incoming forces."

"If anyone else saw more ships coming in from outer space the world would go into a global panic," Davis said. "The results would be catastrophic, with the losses taken since the attack it could literally be the death knell for some countries."

"We can begin small scale clean up from orbit out of range of sight, however to repair the rest of what we can will involve our ships coming closer to the surface which as Major Davis has said could be a problem."

"I…"

"Sir," the shout came from the scanner station at the rear of the bridge. One of the scanner operators was on her feet typing furiously at the console. The Asgard designed scanners began taking reading after reading of the selected area of the Earth. As the resolution began to clear they saw the full view of the ground below them.

"Oh my God," Davis whispered.

The long range scan was as good as any that the warship could make from its current position but the view was unmistakable. Pools of heat had begun to grow larger from a number of spots along the Mediterranean coast. The reading began to show immense amounts of debris being flung into the air only hours behind the cataclysmic damage that the nukes had caused.

"Etna, Stromboli, Vesuvius, the whole lot are erupting," O'Neill said. "Lt How bad is it?"

The scanner operator began typing furiously trying to get more information on the eruptions, the pools of heat were still steadily flowing away from the center of each volcano. Satellite imaging could only do so much and even the powerful hybrid sensors of the human ships were barely able to map the entire flow.

"The eruptions are big sir, the nuclear strike must have disturbed the tectonic plates. The dust and pyroclastic clouds have already reached the towns close to each of the volcano. There are no life signs anywhere around the eruption points."

"What about the other volcanoes in the area?"

"No signs of eruptions sir, but a few of the dormant ones are making noises again."

"Thor, looks like we'll need you help sooner than I thought."

"We will endeavor to help as much as we can O'Neill."

"Thanks Thor, this may take a while."

_**USAF Daedalus**_

_**Daedalus Class Warship**_

_**Colonial Debris Field.**_

"Status report," Colonel Caldwell ordered, taking his seat the latest information started scrolling over his monitor. "How many have we picked up so far?"

"Sixteen ships have marginal power sir but doesn't seem like they have enough for their ftl drives. Four more are on battery supplies. There are isolated numbers of survivors on more ships but there are running out of air and power quickly. We've also picked up a large number of fighter signals at station keeping around the relatively intact ships."

"Count?"

"Twelve thousand three hundred survivors so far. We're still scanning the other ships."

"Keep scanning, I want to know if any of the bastards are readying to escape or are about to lose all life support. Much as we hate it these 'people' are now POWs and we have to follow the rules of war."

"Bombarding the surface of a planet isn't in our rules of war Sir. The Colonies aren't covered by any of our treaties." Major Castleman of the SGC had been seconded to the Daedalus as her temporary executive officer after the losses taken by the crew in their missions to Atlantis. "No one on Earth is this stupid."

The damage taken to Earth could be seen even at this distance. Whilst the majority of the Colonial fleet had been all but wiped out by the Earth forces they had been able to cause horrific carnage on some sections of the planetary surface. Reactions from the crew had been mixed at best, horror, resignation even anger appeared on the faces of most of the crewmembers.

Caldwell and a few of the old hands had schooled their faces into masks of stone, not allowing the destruction to phase them in the slightest. The Colonel had pushed his crew back into their jobs forcibly in some cases, their missiles already exhausted long before the battle had ended they were forced to do what they could using their main and anti fighter railgun systems.

He had cursed the Asgard's refusal to allow the use of their transporters as a weapons system, had they been able to transport their missiles closer to the Colonials or strip away their crews as had been one plan. Never had Caldwell wished for a wraith cruiser more than when he had faced the Colonial fleet, as it was they would be able to take on small numbers of survivors for transport to a facility elsewhere the other ships taking who and what they could.

They passed half a dozen smaller wrecks at the edge of the destroyed formations, wedge shaped hulls of ships their own size drifted past their hulls smashed and crews already dead. Ships that small could only have been escorts according to intelligence, their lack of hanger space or flight pods gave that theory credence to Caldwell.

Scans had already confirmed that the nuclear weapons on the escorts had been depleted, both the cruisers and destroyers were dead in space and useless to any side as anything but scrap metal. Several of the smaller destroyers were torn in half by the debris from shredded Battlestars, others were missing engine blocks or command sections where the close range blasts of nuclear weapons had cracked the hulls blowing them apart.

More than one had impaled other ships fusing their hulls into almost unrecognizable wrecks, the damage to some of the ships was almost surgical their hulls seemingly undamaged until their rotation brought them into sensor range. Simple holes had been blown through the escorts by railgun fire killing the crew but leaving the ships structurally sound.

"Your right Major and that's the problem. The second anyone knows these Colonial survivors are up here they will want revenge on the stupid bastards. The brass want survivors to interrogate about the size of the colonies, their forces, defenses and anything else we can get out of them, which mean we have to let some of them survive to be taken in. Much as I want to blow every single ship out of space I don't have that choice, continue scans."

"Yes Sir. Most of the remaining fighters and smaller ships will run out of oxygen pretty soon. Should I inform Space Command that we'll need to begin taking them off of their ships?"

"How many ships do they have that are stable?"

"Not that many sir, maybe a dozen larger ships could take on an increased load a few smaller ones could take on pilots. I doubt we'll get everyone on board their still active ships…"

"I'm not having them on my ship Major, put them on whatever ships are capable of supporting them and let the crews sort it out. If and only if we can't get them all we'll start transporting them groundside, a pacific island should do until we figure out what to do with them."

_**Briefing Room**_

_**Stargate Command**_

_**Cheyenne Mountain**_

"Alright, what's the situation here General?"

General Hank Landry sat at the head of the briefing room table his seat had been turned around to the main screen. Hayes had been put through during the battle against the Colonial fleet. Now hours later he had been put through again as the consequences of the battle was becoming clear.

"Not good Sir. The confirmed reports from the Prometheus and Odyssey confirm that four of the Colonial fleet's anti ship nukes impacted across the eastern hemisphere at the end of the battle. The detonation of a number of other weapons blinded our ship's sensors long enough to stop us from seeing those last few until it was too late."

"Shit, the land line between the white house and the Kremlin is dead so are the majority of the satellite links. Britain and China have both been in contact to help co-ordinate the relief efforts when and if we can get them going." A folder was laid in front of the president by one of his staff members, "General O'Neill has just sent down a message confirming the arrival of Asgard forces in system. Their ships are standing by to assist with clean up efforts for as long as they can."

"That's a relief, we'll need their help."

"More than we thought General. A number of volcanoes in Italy, Greece, Turkey and Africa have all begun to erupt. Tectonic shifts have been reported as far away from the impacts as Australia, Greenland and the Netherlands."

"We've contacted the Tok'ra, Jaffa and as many other off world allies as we can to assist but not many will be able to get any significant supplies to us for a while. The Jaffa are sending a dozen ships with relief supplies as well as for defense of the system until we can get our own house back in order."

"How bad is it Colonel? I've only had fragmented reports of our losses."

"I won't sugarcoat it sir, our forces are in pretty bad shape. The loss of two ships from the fleet has damaged our ability to defend ourselves against any attack over the next few weeks. The Korolev and Ajax will need months to come up to full capacity and the loss of the Apollo took a significant chunk of the pool of trained crew for our warships."

"What about the fighters?"

"They acquitted themselves well sir, however our losses were quite severe. We won't know the full losses for a few days. We're not much better off that the Colonials were when they bugged out."

Hayes nodded distractedly as he read through another folder on his desk. Signing off on something he handed the paperwork to another aide at the side of the desk. More folders came up as Hayes finished with the others in front of him, dropping his glasses onto the desk the president rubbed his eyes.

"This is a real problem. We can't fend of another attack like this if they decide to try again. I want you to begin planning a counterattack at the Colonials as soon as possible. They've declared war General and I want to see to it that they know just what they've stepped into.'

"I'll get on it, sir."

"I want full reports from the surviving ships command staff and from Stargate Command. I want to know what we dealt with and how."

"Yes sir, the majority of our forces worked well we just didn't have enough of them to take on the Colonials at this level. We've sent a request to Atlantis for Jumpers to reinforce our lines for the moment, the city's ZPM should be enough for them to send us a squadron or so."

"Isn't that risking Atlantis' power supply?"

"It could be Sir. Once we're in a position to do so we'll begin sending ships to complete the transgalactic Bridge. It'll make reinforcing us or the city a lot easier. For now however we don't have a choice if we're going to keep the Colonials from coming back at us."

"Alright get on to Atlantis and find out when we can expect them, keep me apprised of this General, oh and one last thing General bring the Prometheus and Daedalus down here. Their crews have been up there nonstop since before the battle, let them known this is a presidential order to get some rest and that includes O'Neill am I understood?"

"Yes Sir, SGC out."

A flash of light appeared within the room, Landry turned to see the figures of O'Neill and Thor materialize.

"Jack, Thor."

"Hank."

"Greetings General Landry."

"What's the latest from up top?" O'Neill asked.

"The term clusterfuck comes to mind. We're still getting partial reports from stations worldwide of riots scared civilians flooding into countries at the periphery of the detonations. Most of the information we're getting is from the NSA sats and our ships, it's going to be months before we know everything about this."

"The Asgard will assist in any way possible General. The Jackson, and O'Neill will maintain position within the Earth's Solar system for the time being. Our advanced technology should allow us to help clear much of the dust from the air. However we will be unable to fully heal the damage that your world has taken, even our technology will be of limited use around the impact sites."

"We can only ask for what help you can Thor. You've done more than enough to help us over the years." Landry answered.

"Nonetheless the humans of Earth have come to our assistance many times over the last eight years. It is with the blessing of the Council that my ships will remain in system. With the last few replicator swarms eliminated we have a small number of ships spare to continue our myriad of missions within our purview. I for one believe that we owe your people too much not to help."

"Thank you Commander, this will be of immense help."

"Talk to the president yet?" O'Neill asked.

Landry sat back in his chair and looked at the screen, the usual spinning SGC logo had been replaced with data views coming from Area 51, McMurdo Base and the other defensive posts that made up the Homeworld Security branch of the world's armed forces.

"He wants a counter attack planned as soon as possible. I said I'd get our people working on it. It'll take a while with our fleet units in disarray with luck we'll have the other ships repaired or finished before we take the attack to the Colonies."

"Yeah well that's not our only problem," he said. "Daedalus is currently doing a full fly by of what was left of that Colonial fleet and picked up at least ten thousand life signs still aboard their ships, more aboard fighters and those shuttle like things they've got. Most of the ships seem to be ok for now but a lot are starting to lose their systems."

"That will not be a problem for long," Thor said.

O'Neill turned to his friend's chair. "Thor buddy, what are you thinking?"

"The Colonials are a problem that we will remove as soon as possible. It is a simple matter."

"Hold on a sec, you mean beam them out right?" O'Neill questioned.

"In a matter of speaking, yes."

O'Neill shared a look with Landry. The Asgard's version of removing a problem usually came in two ways either overwhelming fire from their capital ships or the use of the beaming technology to 'disappear' the problem quickly and efficiently. O'Neill had never got up the courage to ask Thor what exactly happened to the people or ships beamed away by their ships and to be truthful he wasn't sure he wanted to know.

"Unfortunately as much as they have done to us Earth has a set of rules about treatment of Prisoners of War," Landry began. "If it was up to me I'd use them for target practice or give them to the Jaffa as slave labor in their mines or forges, but we need to follow the rules for this one."

"Then we shall ascertain how many survivors there are in the fleet and where we may be able to settle them until such time as your governments decide on their fates. When it comes to it we will gladly assist with whatever you decide to do. The Colonials have made an enemy of the Asgard as much as the humans of Earth, however for the moment, we may only give humanitarian aid to your people."

"Thank you Thor," Landry said. "Have your ships been able to ascertain any more information around the impact zones. Our own sensors are blocked by the debris clouds and radiation."

"Our sensors have ground level readings that we are correlating with our records of your planet's terrain. It will take several minutes to compare and modify the information for your computer systems to use." Thor pressed a button on his chair using the communications system to link the SGC's mainframe to the Daniel Jackson in orbit above them. "The damage is quite severe both in the upper crust around the detonations and the lower crust along the fault lines in the areas effected."

The two computer systems linked up and began the projection of the damaged portions of the surface in detail. Clouds of ash and dust still spewed from the volcanoes smothering the entire area in thick merciless debris. Close ups of the actual craters were easily picked out due to the still glowing edges, it was only somewhat fortunate that the weapons had not been 'dirty' nukes otherwise the fallout could have been much worse.

More shots of the surrounding area came up showing entire towns and cities flattened for hundreds of miles in all directions. No life could have possibly survived in those areas destroyed by the shockwaves. Most of Europe and Asia was covered in increasing amounts of ash and cloud cover whilst yet more of the areas around the volcanoes were being bogged down by the ash.

"We estimate that more then sixty percent of the volcanoes and fault lines within one hundred miles of each impact or eruption will have some form of upheaval in the next six months. We shall Endeavour to stop these eruptions before they can destroy more of the Earth. It is a relatively simple process that we have already begun on the active vents."

"Hell of a mess down there. Most of Italy will have to be evacuated so will the survivors around Hong Kong and possibly Johannesburg. I've heard the Russians have already begun their own evacs to the interior of the country until the debris settles down."

"Then it may be a good idea to begin repairs on the areas that have been cleared or are less damaged from the impacts."

"The pacific islands are a complete loss; the tidal waves and fallout has destroyed most of the area. China has offered assistance to get those that can out of the way, but their own country is taking a hell of a beating from the fallout." Landry continued. "SEATO Allies have begun mobilization of naval and aerial based assets but for now most people will be stuck where they are."

"We could use the fleet but it would mean risking more security breaches, although to tell the truth I doubt that matter much anymore. After all, this I think lets the cat's out of the bag as it is. People are gonna be royally pissed at us when they find out about the gate."

"Excuse me Sirs, Commander," Walter said from the door. "We have new signals approaching the solar system, size and speed seems to suggest Jaffa Ha'taks incoming from the galactic center."

"If you'll excuse me gentlemen but duty calls," Landry said.

"No problem Hank, we'll come with you. See who they've sent to 'help' this time."

"I am needed back aboard my ship for the moment, I shall return once our scans have been completed." With another flash of light Thor disappeared.

"I love those things, would make it so easy to get between here and my cabin," Jack mused as he followed Landry back to the control room. Climbing down the stairs he watched as the signals of the incoming flotilla began to decelerate, the basics size of this indicated the Ha'taks that they were expecting.

"All stations this is Stargate command, Condition Yellow. Repeat condition yellow," Walter spoke into the microphone. "Unidentified warships have entered Earth Space, all stations to Condition Yellow."

"Problems Hank?"

"Just precautions Jack. If this is anything like the Colonials again we might have problems. Chief, get me the Prometheus."

"Aye Sir, Prometheus is already online."

"Pendergast, this is Landry."

"Receiving Sir."

"Keep a fix on those ships if they make any sudden moves shoot them first. We can ask the survivors any questions."

"Aye Sir, missile stocks are loaded, primary weapon is still at depleted strength however. A number of the components have been overloaded in the last battle. Thor's crew is seeing what they can do with it."

"Damn, do what you can Colonel. The Asgard should be able to back you up if we need them."

"The Daedalus is still doing a dedicated search of each of the Colonial wrecks. We've called them back into position. They should rejoin us before the Ha'tak arrive."

"Understood, keep a channel open to us at all times."

"Roger that Sir, Prometheus out." The voice of the Colonel disappeared as the channel was muted. Landry turned to Walter who merely answered with a two minute warning for the reversion of the incoming ships. The boards lit up as the signals dropped into space several thousand miles outside of Lunar orbit, as twelve Jaffa Nation Ha'tak vessels had dropped in formation well away from the engagement zone.

"We has confirmation sir. It's Bre'tac's forces; he's requesting communications."

"Put him through Chief."

The screen changed to the face of the old warrior

"Bre'tac you old dog good of you to join us."

"O'Neill, it is good to see you still live. I must apologize for the lateness of our arrival, we were unable to spare many ships to assist our friends among the Tau'ri until recently. Tell me what the condition of your people is."

"Pretty bad, we're kinda screwed on the ships front. You've appeared right on time to help out though."

"We have humanitarian supplies and fighter squadrons to assist with the defense of your world, it seems however many of your problems are in the hands of other allies."

"Don't be too sure old man," O'Neill smiled. "We're glad to see you and I'm damn glad you're here to help."

"Indeed, we will begin when we are needed."

_**Oval Office**_

_**White House**_

_**Washington DC**_

The Oval office was a scene of unbridled chaos as aides, soldiers, even chiefs of staff of the armed forces came and went. Folders, reports, printouts, photographs, anything and everything that the United States and its allies were able to discover about the attack and it's repercussions over the last day.

One of the president's press secretaries popped her head around the door and garnered his attention.

"Sir we've established communications with the Russian and Chinese premieres."

"About time, alright people out. Give me a minute then put them through Michelle."

"Yes Mr.. President."

The myriad of people in the room were ushered out by his secret services personnel allowing Hayes to put his thoughts in order. As the door closed he centered himself and took a long drink of the whisky someone had left him. Hitting a button on his desk, Hayes was put through to a three way conversation between himself and the other world leaders, taking a deep breath he now wished that he had contacted one of his allied leaders before his all went ahead he could have used the support especially from the other members of the IOA.

"Gentlemen."

"Mr. President."

"Good Evening Mr.. President."

"I've been receiving periodic updates from your countries. I'm sorry were unable to stop the missiles from impacting on your countries. We tried everything we could to stop the Colonials from damaging our world. We were lucky that only so few hit us otherwise we could be looking at total destruction of our civilization."

"Mr.. President. Dimitri Kasparov Premier of the Russian Republic. We thank you for your words. It is both fortunate and unfortunate that the missile hit where it did. There are few survivors in the area that was hit the time of year. What few survivors we will have to remove will be easily resettled elsewhere."

"This is not so for my people," the Chinese Chairman Pei Hui Huang spoke up, "The detonation has destroyed the island of Hong Kong and sent tidal waves into the coastal regions of our mainland. Hundreds of thousands of miles of farmlands and food processing has been destroyed. More and more of my people are dying of radiation fall out and the dust clouds. We will need help Mr.. President or my people will be decimated by the lack of food and shelter."

"Alright Mr. Chairman. We'll help as much as possible, we have off world allies coming to our assistance as we speak…"

"More aliens. It is you reliance upon aliens and the American belief in their superiority that has caused this catastrophe. Your unwillingness to leave them alone has brought these people upon us," Huang spoke up. "In addition your delay in allowing the member countries the information to build your space going warships has stopped us from defending the planet as we should."

Kasparov interrupted the chairman with a cough. "If I am not incorrect Chairman but only two of the Chinese 302 squadrons were involved in the battle as it was. Every fighter the Americans, British, French, German and our own forces had participated but only a limited number of yours were involved. If they had all been there then perhaps none of the missiles would have been able to impact on the surface."

"That is untrue; all of the forces we could spare were at the battle. We were forced to hold back some for the defense of our country in the case that the American's incompetent forces were to allow enemy forces through to our airspace," Huang countered. "What of your supposed defenses such as the drone platform you invested so much time and effort on. You promised us with our support that our countries would not only share in the fruits of the project but that we would be seen as full partners in this yet not one Chinese scientist or soldier is part of that station or the Atlantis project. The incompetence of the 'superior' American military has cost the lives of millions of my people."

"I am sorry but none of your people were satisfactorily passed through the security of the projects. In addition Mr.. Chairman that when the call went out no one else kept their space going forces behind except you..." Hayes said. "Now I understand that you wanted to protect your country but the 302s and our space fleet were designed and produced under the guarantee that all of the forces assembled would be used to defend the planet as a whole. Now with the dissemination of information about the F302 to our allies we should have been able to build a lot more fighters than we sent up. We know that more exist but there are not enough pilots to fly them. But your country has been building and training as long as England and the rest have yet you sent up only a fraction everyone else did."

"Our airspace needed defending…"

"You are dragging your feet," Kasparov derided. "We have all begun building warships and squadrons of ships yet you have not even begun construction of a single warship since the technical specifications of the Prometheus and Daedalus class ships were given to each of our allies. Maybe it is better for you to leave this war to the real soldiers, those who know better how to fight this kind of enemy."

"You dare dispute the honor and courage of our armed forces! We would build ships if the Americans would allow us access to the proper materials, but so far we have been denied access because we will not allow observers and technical experts to be put in place throughout our construction facilities. We unlike you, are not so spineless to roll over for the Americans."

"No, you would merely wait until we have fought to the last before stabbing us all in the back with the ships that you would hoard even as the world was set ablaze by our enemies. It is simple-you were afraid of them, afraid that your vaunted pilots would not be up for the battle," Kasperov shouted. "Dozens of our best pilots died up there, more are scarred for life and our prize warship has been crippled by the enemy. And yet you – you claim that you could not send your pilots and you will not build ships because of your cowardice. You are so very lucky we are not able to send the Korolev to teach you a lesson."

"It is you who needs a lesson Kasperov, any forces you send will be…"

"ENOUGH." Hayes shouted slamming his hands on his desk, "The both of you, be quiet, I am damned aware of what happened out there. My country lost a warship and a huge number of our qualified pilots against those damned Colonial bastards. We've lost contact with outposts and bases in Africa and Europe close to the other impact sites. It is unfortunate what has happened but this is not the time to argue about who's fault it is. The fate of hundreds of millions worldwide hangs on the edge. Every country we have been able to contact has begun mobilizing their forces. And humanitarian efforts have already begun thanks to the Asgard and our own ships. Right now we need to get people away from the danger zones and into allied territory."

Stopping to take a breath and calm down he noticed neither of the other leaders had begun talking again. Taking this as a sign he was being listened to, he began again in a more calm controlled manner.

"I know that neither of your countries has suitable reserves to fully remove the injured and those in danger from the strikes however you will be receiving aid as and when we can get it in position. Within the next day I shall be informing the world of what happened here. We shall disclose what the public needs to know and why this happened."

"You can not be serious!" the Russian spoke up. "This will cause panic worldwide if the fact the Stargate exists. The fallout, pardon the expression, will be chaotic as people will demand to know why they have been kept in the dark all this time. You and many of us will be under fire from our respective parties."

"Believe me Dimitri I am well aware of the implications of this. I've got the Joint chiefs on my ass, the SGC, Vandenberg and God knows who else trying to co-ordinate our efforts. This is the last thing I want to have to do, but in order to explain how we're fixing this mess we have to explain who and what happened up there and that's something I really don't want to do."

Silence reigned as the three heads of state realized the implications of full disclosure. None of the countries of the IOA would be safe from the inevitable catastrophe that would come from the Americans finally admitting their use of the Stargate. Worse still would be the fact of the worldwide conspiracy to keep it from the world's population at large, time was not on their side at all.

"How can we help Mr. President?" Huang asked.

"I'm going to call an assembly of the United Nations Security council. We'll send out a worldwide transmission as soon as possible to explain what happened here and why. I'll have the orbiting ships beam the leaders of the five core IOA countries to Washington then to New York."

"I think it will be a bad decision to reveal the Stargate to the public Mr.. President." Huang said before forestalling any interruption. "I am aware that my country was the first to request full disclosure to the world at large. But at this time the knowledge of the Stargate and its full impact on Earth, coupled with the full scale of the Colonial attack would be dangerous. I apologies for my harsh words, my people are on a precipice and the reports on our losses are still coming in."

"Apology accepted Chairman, its not been easy on any of us today." Hayes sat back in his chair. "I think disclosure is our best bet."

"It may not be Mr.. President, I agree with Chairman Huang. It is too dangerous to let the world as a whole know about the Stargate. The damage it caused to international relations when it was merely the core countries was unfortunate. With the gate public knowledge some countries will wonder what else has been hidden from their eyes."

"What do you suggest Premier?" Hayes asked. "The fact that the Colonials were stopped as well as the inevitable sightings of our warships and fighter squadrons over the next few days will let the cat out of the bag. The Asgard and Jaffa will have to be allowed into low orbit or lower to help out our own people. I can't see us not letting the world know."

"I am not sure Mr. President, but a full disclosure is not an option."

"Maybe not, Mr. President I may have an answer," Huang replied.


	3. Chapter Two

**Chapter Two**

**Disclosure**

_**Sky News Studios**_

_**London**_

_**England**_

"Good Evening, the main story tonight a number of world leaders have called a press conference to inform the world about the events leading up to the multiple nuclear detonations several days ago. The leaders of four of the world's most powerful military powers have been confirmed as supporting the speaker, Henry Hayes President of the United States.

For four days the world has watched and prayed as thousands of men and women from all over the world have headed for the destroyed cities in order to help any survivors that may still be within the blast zone. Death tolls amongst the people of Europe, Africa China and Russia have already topped one hundred million and this number is expected to rise.

Every major power across the face of the globe is holding at their maximum security conditions in case of another attack by the self styled 'Colonial liberation Force', ground air and naval units have been deployed on war footing within the boundaries of their home countries many for the first time since World War II. Other more secretive units have been seen assembling within the United States, Russia and the United Kingdom within the last day.

From RAF Coningsby James Robertson reports:"

"As you can see behind me a number of very advanced looking fighter aircraft are massing ready for lift off. These terrifying vehicles are the vanguard force of what has been described as a 'space fleet' that was constructed in secret by a number of allied governments over the last few years.

The fighters are also believed to be part of the force that repulsed the invasion attempt on our planet less than a week ago. Footage gathered from members of the public show that a large number of these aircraft landed heavily damaged and some even trailing smoke and debris as they attempted to land. It is possible that the gathering here are all that remains of this highly advanced fighter wing

Reports of a full-sized carrier ship under construction off of the coast of Scotland have so far be unconfirmed, however eyewitnesses saw a blackened and burnt air vessel larger than any seen before land on an unidentified island. Whilst we don't know the full size of the United Kingdom's contribution to the defence of this planet from outside attack we can now be named as one of those few countries in the world capable of fielding a substantial presence within the Solar System.

Thousands of members of the public have begun to surround the Air Force stations on all sides to find out how and where these fantastic new aircraft came from and how they were responsible for the defeat of the Colonial attack. It appears however that many of the answers will not be given easily. James Robertson, Sky News at RAF Coningsby."

"Demonstrators from a number of groups have been camping out through out London and a number of towns close to Royal Air Force and Army stations, members of Greenpeace, the Campaign for Nuclear disarmament amongst other Anti-War groups have also begun demonstrations outside a number of military establishments.

This has led in some instances to violence between the protestors and a number of groups that have come out in support of the government and the military, several hundred from either side have been arrested by both the Police and the Military police units at each of the sites.

We now go to the conference hall of the United Nations building where President Hayes and the members of the Allied countries have gathered, the meeting is scheduled in about five minutes. We will stay on the air until the conference has ended before returning to our discussion panel that will analyze these ground breaking events…"

**United Nations Building**

**New York**

**USA**

"This is a bad idea," Hayes said to himself. "Huang, If I get lynched I'm taking you with me."

"Fear not, Mr. President. I believe this version of events will bring the people of this world onto our side in droves without having to hide the construction projects, or the funds to build the ships we need we will be able to defend ourselves against any attack the Colonials may bring against us."

"I for one, would prefer not to have to build my country's ships on remote islands in the Hebrides when we have perfectly good dry-docks on the Mersey." The tall English Prime minister grinned at his opposites. "Still it'll be a relief if the world as a whole can begin funding the projects we need to continue defending this world."

"I couldn't have said better Alex." Premier Kasparov walked up behind Prime Minister Murray. "With the funding we hope to gain from the countries of the world our fleet expansion will be within our grasp. We can only hope new technologies can be found to make our ships more effective."

"That as may be gentlemen I believe it's time for us to face the music," Hayes replied. "Good luck to us all."

As the five men entered the centre of the United Nations council the hundreds of delegates ceased talking and watched as Hayes took his place. All noise ceased as the president steeled himself for the inevitable; cameras, radio microphones, digital cameras and any other possible media device were running ready to send his words out live worldwide. Henry Hayes stood on a Dias at the very centre of the United Nations building in New York, flanking him to either side were the four heads of state of the countries that made up the IOA inner council.

"Ladies and Gentlemen of the Security Council, delegates of the United Nations ladies and gentlemen of the planet Earth. This is not an easy thing for me to get through so I humbly ask for everyone to remain silent until my speech has been completed. Approximately ten years ago an advanced piece of technology was uncovered within the archives of the weapons research and development projects of what was formally DARPA. This technology allowed humans from Earth to step on another celestial body almost twenty five years after the last moon landing.

In 1997 a team of soldiers and civilians attached to the United States Air Force used a hybrid of human and alien technology to leave Earth and set foot on a new unknown planet within this spiral arm of the Galaxy. In answer to the dangers found there, a defence command under the codename Project Blue Book was developed to protect Earth at large from attacks by our enemies. Under the command of General George Hammond and the then Colonel Jack O'Neill of the United States Air Force led their teams in uncovering new technologies from numerous resources.

"Inevitably, it seemed the brave travellers from this world met a hostile race, one bound on dominating all humans as their slaves and worshippers. A race of parasitic life forms known as the Goa'uld believed in their destiny to rule over all life forms within the universe. Many had already visited Earth in the guises of the ancient god of Egypt, Greece, and Rome among others.

The war against these parasites has not been without cost however, amongst which were some of our best and brightest soldiers, marines, pilot and naval personnel. Dr Janet Fraiser, Chief Medical officer for Project Blue Book; Major Charles Kowalski United States Air Force; former Vice-President Robert Kinsey; the men and women of the Nimitz battle group amongst others, perished in the line of duty. Others have tried to destroy us merely because we choose to exist as our own race, not as slaves bowing to a false god.

With the knowledge that we had entered dangerous times, the project was expanded and for the next decade would be responsible for saving this planet time and again. Within those travels the team of Colonel Jack O'Neill, Captain Samantha Carter, Doctor Daniel Jackson and an allied commander by the name of Teal'c, were able to form alliances that kept the Earth safe from those who would be willing to destroy us. However approximately three years ago a force of humans known as the Kobollian Colonies was contacted by the starship Prometheus, in response to this relations between our races were established.

The twelve colonies saw Earth as a fabled and missing thirteenth tribe and wished for us to rejoin them as a member of their society. It is unfortunate however that we discovered that while very much alike our respective powers did not see eye to eye and our refusal to bow to their demands ended with contact being cut between us. No contact was made between us for several years until this week.

Three days ago the cities of St Petersburg, Johannasburg, Venice and the province of Hong Kong, were destroyed by an orbital bombardment of fifty megaton nuclear weapons. These weapons were part of a concentrated attack by a number of warships belonging to the Colonies.

At Eight Thirty Seven Eastern Standard Time, two hundred of what were at that time unidentified warships entered inside lunar orbit heading directly for Earth. They were later identified by the NORAD defence command as a fleet of Colonial warships heading straight towards Earth. It was believed and then later confirmed that this fleet had been sent by the Colonials in order to assimilate our planet and cultures into their own, their belief of our planet as a 'sister world' to their own has lead them to believe that Earth should be brought into their governing body. Soon afterwards a message was transmitted across every radio frequency we have access to informing the world of their plans for us. It was evident by this point that we were to submit to them and it was the Colonial's decision that this was to happen in any way possible. This included force of arms and if necessary orbital bombardment. As a counter, several countries over the past few years have utilized technologies discovered both on Earth and elsewhere with our galaxy to build our own warships. Allied races from other galaxies as well as other parts of our own have assisted us with the production of resources to increase our power projection away from this planet. As such, six warships and a number of fighter squadrons from several countries around the world participated in battle against the encroaching war fleet.

In the ensuing battle one hundred and sixty Colonial warships were disabled or destroyed and over five thousand fighter type craft wiped out by our own fleet. In comparison two of our own capital ships were destroyed or heavily damaged with fighter losses running into a great many vessels lost and pilots killed. Temporary blinding of the detection system on board the remaining ships allowed a number of missiles to pass through our defences resulting in the catastrophic damage done to our world.

In response to our requests for help, two of the non-human races that have helped us with the defence of our world in recent years have dispatched ships to assist with the rescue efforts of those hurt in the attack. For the next few months ships of differing types will be visible to the people of this planet. They are here to help not as invaders or killers. Because of their help, radiation and dust clouds are being removed from the atmosphere. Already two of the volcanoes of Italy have been sealed and their magma flows tapped off to allow the area around each of the mountains to be repaired and reconstructed by the surviving inhabitants of the countries that these attacks have devastated. It will take time but I am convinced that above all that if we work together that we will be able to recover from this tragedy."

Rumblings began to echo through the United Nations building as the delegates talked among themselves, the chairman of the proceedings slammed a gavel down the microphone pick ups amplifying it to thunderous proportions. He motioned for Hayes to continue.

"For the last three years the American government has disclosed the existence of our projects and alliances with the countries of Russia, China, France and Great Britain, as the most powerful countries in the world. Their assistance was deemed necessary in the view that we were outnumbered, outgunned and stretched thin with resources. Thanks to those countries a number of critical developments and construction projects were continued leading to the successful repelling of the Colonials.

All and any aid will be used to help those that are still within the impact zones. Already more than one hundred thousand men and women from the allied countries have begun the task of aiding and abetting the survivors. Supplies of all types are moving from storehouses within those same countries thanks to the orbiting warships of the United States Air Force and their alien allies.

However I must remind all that this is merely the first shot of this war, a war that we did not start but will in turn strike back with every means at our disposal. We are not warmongers nor are we willing to take this with revenge. In agreement with my esteemed colleagues of the United Kingdom and her Commonwealth, The Russian Federation, the Republic of France and the People's Republic of China, we hereby declare war on the Twelve Colonies of Kobol and their peoples.

"This may be a long and bloody war. We will take losses and we will lose those men and women that have signed on to defend this planet against its foes, but I will be damned if we allow the memories of those murdered by the unprovoked attack on our world to go unavenged, or forgotten. In the fullness of time we will fight back, but until that time all we can do is prepare ourselves for this war and its aftermath.

Ladies and Gentlemen of the Planet Earth, thank you."

The United Nations delegates began to rumble as the full effect of Hayes' words began to take, several of the countries did little due to their foreknowledge of what was to happen that day. Shouts from a number of power blocks began to rain upon the allied leaders. Claims of conspiracy and outright lying to the world flew between the sides. Demands that everything involved with this 'defence project' be handed over to all countries. The noise became extreme as the shouts became roars, dozens if not hundreds of representatives screamed about the 'lies' that the Americans and their allies had made up about this non-existent threat.

A familiar flash of white light disrupted the increasingly agitated crowd. As it faded, three figures stood on the Dias exactly where Hayes had stood before finishing his speech. Two of the men were easily human but the third was very different, silence reigned as the delegates watched in open mouthed shock.

"I will never get used to that," the delegate of the United Kingdom spoke up. "General, Doctor, Commander Thor, welcome back."

"Thank you, Mister Baker," Thor spoke. The delegate had been the man sent to the disclosure conference several years before by the United Kingdom. Baker had gotten over his shock at meeting an alien relatively quickly leading to a number of conversations about their cultures and the fact that many of the norsemen had flourished after settling throughout Europe.

"Sorry for barging in people but we thought you might like to hear some of this from those of us that were there. No offense meant, Mr. President," O'Neill spoke into the microphone. "My name is General Jack O'Neill of the United States Air force, former commander of Project Blue Book, with me here is Doctor Daniel Jackson PhD, and Supreme Commander Thor of the Asgard Fleet.

Ten years ago shortly after uncovering the alien technologies that allowed us to travel off world, Doctor Jackson and I took a team from Earth to the Planet Abydos. During our first mission we discovered a race of humans originally transplanted from Earth or more precisely the Egyptian empires of between five and ten thousand years ago. These humans were kept as slave miners by a parasite being within a human body that had been going by the name of Ra. Most of the team we took off-world were killed by this man's guards, those of us that survived finally freed the people of that planet from thousands of years of servitude by destroying Ra's vessel with him aboard.

During the last ten years we have fought off alien races, artificial intelligences, energy beings, even other human cultures that wanted nothing more than to make us slaves or simply destroy who we are for their own reasons, every man and woman who has died in the service of protecting this world has done so in the knowledge that they were keeping the wolves from the door for at least another day. I've seen too many people die over the years to allow any megalomaniac to simply walk in and take over because they believe it's their 'divine right' to rule over us. It's the fact that we refused to buckle under that the peoples of the galaxy are finally free of the ten thousand years of murder, repression, hatred and violence that they were forced under. While it is true that we have made enemies powerful enough to destroy us in a blink of an eye we have also made allies that can do the same to our enemies. One of these allies is a race familiar to anyone that watched the United States Air Force in confrontation with Alec Colson last year. I present to the assembled United Nations Supreme Commander Thor of The Asgard Fleet."

The silence became palpable as the very slight form of the Asgard approached the Dias his command chair lifting slightly as it interfaced with the more esoteric radio technology the humans used to communicate. "Greetings to you all from the Asgard Federation. In order to explain who and what we are it would be prudent to inform you all of the history of the galaxies in which we involve ourselves. Many thousands of years ago the Asgard was a member of an alliance of four races, Asgard, Nox, Furling and Alteran. As each of our races fell or simply became introvert the Alliance dissolved until we were all that was truly left of the old races."

"It was at this time that the last few of the Alterans capable of doing so disappeared from space and evolved into another form. Their few surviving brethren had decided merely to remain on Earth and interbreed with the new race that were beginning to take form on the oldest of their planets. This race was rediscovered by the Asgard with the arrival of Jack O'Neill within their midst several years ago."

"We were unable to defend both galaxies from the races that would make slaves or hosts of those that they saw as inferior. We were unable to cease the rise of the parasitical Goa'uld that preyed on the ancient races of the planet Earth. It is fortunate for both our races that our respective peoples managed to find each other at the very time we needed each other. It is the human drive, willingness to self-sacrifice and pure stubbornness that allowed your people to thrive within the interstellar community. Many of the species including our own thank the people of Earth for everything they have endured thus far."

"In return for the assistance that the soldiers of your world have given us, the Asgard High Council has authorized the continued presence of our ships within your system to protect the people of Earth against any possible intrusion by the enemies of our respective races. Additionally, we have already begun the long task of removing ash and dust from t he air across this world. The radiation particles from the detonated missiles will also be filtered from the ground at each impact point to allow for those areas destroyed to be reclaimed."

"We cannot give back to you what you have lost but we can only assist with your war against the Colonials that attacked this planet and its innocent population. I have been authorised by the high council of the Asgard Federation to annul the protected planets treaty between the people of Earth, the now fallen Goa'uld and the Asgard. This will be replaced with a mutual defence treaty between our respective powers.

While the Asgard as a race can not as of the current time join the humans of Earth in declaring war upon those that attacked your world we can at least inform you that you are not alone in this universe and we will never allow you to believe otherwise, we owe you much that we may not repay but we will not leave you to go alone. Thank you for listening."

The shock that the human race had been in regular contact with that of an alien race was still percolating through the minds of many of the United Nations. Reporters, security forces amongst others were also shocked at this turn of events. The silence was broken as the third of the group approached the Dias and began speaking.

"Ladies and Gentlemen of the United Nations, my name is Doctor Daniel Jackson and Head of Anthropology at the command base for the defence project. A little over ten years ago I was approached by the government about a paper I had published involving the theories that the Pyramids at Giza had been used by a non-human civilization as a form of platform to land their ships. Several months later I was attached to a team lead by General O'Neill offworld. It was during this excursion that we discovered a pyramid almost identical in size to those at the Giza Plateau in Egypt."

"Soon afterwards, I was faced by an alien being that had taken the guise of the Sun God Ra of the Egyptian pantheon. His ship had indeed landed on the pyramid we discovered on the planet of Abydos. The destruction of the parasite Ra and his ship came in short order allowing most of us that survived to escape from that planet and return to Earth. I myself stayed on Abydos with my… my wife and her family." Daniel stopped his speech as he steeled himself against what was coming.

"A year later I lost my brother-in-law and my wife to the Goa'uld. I dedicated myself to finding them and returning them to Abydos and cutting us off from any contact with the outside universe. I failed them but refused to stop fighting the Goa'uld even when attempts were made to force me to cease going off world. The last year ten thousand years of the power of the Goa'uld was broken completely by the combined forces of the Free Jaffa Nation all of whom were former slaves and our own soldiers under the command of General Jack O'Neill and General George Hammond of the Air Force.

It seems now that another enemy has decided to take the place of the Goa'uld as enemies of Earth and our allies. The Colonials of the Cyrannus sector attacked Earth simply because of our religious belief systems and perceived technical superiority over their own forces. Already we have taken losses that cannot be easily calculated or accepted by any of us, deaths that were needless except for the simple fact we would not sit down and allow them to dictate the terms of our survival.

The history of our world has been revealed as a very different time than we originally believed. Already the project's historical experts have begun piecing together the real history of our world from our pre history and even from the earliest times of our recorded history. It seems that we'll be very busy over the next few years teaching those who wish to know what really happened thousands to millions of years ago. I just hope I'm up to the task ahead of me. The archives will be available to all countries that request to know what we have uncovered over the last ten years.

I do understand that a good number of people will dismiss the information gathered as fair tales and fiction made up by other worlds and God knows they said exactly the same for my theories and will continue to do so even now I have the proof I need. We can't force people to believe the information gathered all we can do is ask you to have an open mind about this. Thank you."

As the three new arrivals left the podium Hayes returned to face the hushed room. The more belligerent of the ambassadors were stunned by the simple fact that an ancient and powerful race believed they owed so much to the people of Earth. Even the most antagonistic of them began to wonder what kind of political capital this would mean for the world at large.

"I know that this is a shock for many of you, it has not been an easy ride for those of us that were already in the know as it were. Material, personnel and fund losses have been extreme in the short run however with this disclosure we simply hope that other countries represented within this august body will assist with the defence of our world by the means necessary.

The losses taken to our space defence forces will not be easily replaced. With the loss of so many of our best and brightest the United States and Russian contingents are now already scrambling to put more ships and fighters into the air. It has taken time and effort over five years to allow us to even begin to construct a force large enough to defend ourselves against an enemy that outnumbers and outguns us all. As of today all construction on naval vessels and military aircraft is being suspended within each country represented here by the gentlemen behind me, all military resources will be transferred to the immediate production of replacement equipment to defend Earth.

I won't lie to any of you, we are in dire straits. For the moment our allies from off world are willing and able to fight off any attack that the Colonial Fleet may be able to muster against us. But we can not and must not simply allow others to defend what is ours. The allied countries assembled before you will continue to fight and if necessary die to protect others. We need your help and your willingness to fight the colonials to the best of our abilities. There isn't much else for me to say that hasn't already been said, thank you all for your time and patience."

With a final nod to the United Nations ambassadors, Hayes stepped down next to the other world leaders barely a second before the humans and Asgard disappeared in a single burst of light. The group reappeared on board the Prometheus still within orbit of the Earth.

"Well that went well," Hayes said. "Commander Thor, I thank you for your help down there. I'm not sure what would have happened had we been unable to keep the delegates calm."

"Understandable caution, Mr. President. I do fear however that the lack of disclosure of the Stargate may be problematic in the future. Your speech was impressive but I do not believe that you will be able to keep the truth behind doors for much longer."

"Yeah I know, but until we can figure out how to tell the world about the Gate, it's best to keep it under wraps. At least now we don't have to hide too much. Gentlemen it was good of you to take the time to assist me with this today, let's just hope it hasn't permanently damaged our chances of staying in power. We'll begin the full scale transfer to your respective countries of personnel and resources to refit your shipyards to build 304s and 302s."

Huang spoke up. "Then you are going to remove the block from rightful supply of equipment and personnel? Your armed forces will be unhappy with that Mr. President especially as technically we are still a hostile power to the United States. This is something that will not change overnight even with the disclosure of our alliance against the Goa'uld."

"The problem gentlemen will be that China, as a country is considered hostile by all the other members of this alliance," Murray said. "Ourselves included. I do not see any of our countries allowing large amounts of critical or exotic resources to arm a hostile culture. No offense intended, Mr. Chairman."

"None taken my friend, however my people will demand that we be given access to all data and materials needed. This is something that I will not be able to stave off for very long."

"I've managed to get the Chiefs of Staff to budge on a certain amount of the necessary supplies," Hayes put in. "But so far barely enough to expand to a large scale production of F302s. Simply put, they don't trust you or the Russians that much, even with your assistance with the alliance."

"So that is why they 'offered' us the Korolev as a bargaining chip, so we wouldn't think much on their holding back the necessary resources to build our own ships. Your staff is crafty, Mr. President but my cabinet will also be unhappy when hearing this. Your people have already dragged out the dissemination of the information we should have been given long ago," Kasparov warned.

"Well, I hope we can settle this," Murray again piped up. "We'll need all the help we can get to fight these colonials. It's time we settled the problems between our countries and began a real defence of this world."

"I know, I know. It's going to take time to get the military to listen to the fact that we're gonna need help to get any kind of joint military command structure in place. I'll do what I can guys, but for now we'll have to stick with what we've got. Again thank you all for coming it was appreciated."

"Then I believe that's our cue to return to whatever government may still be in power," Murray said. "God knows what this will do to any of your parties. Good luck gentlemen I fear we may need it. Commander Thor it was a pleasure to finally meet you in person. Baker had nothing but good opinions of you."

"Thank you Mr Prime Minister, I enjoyed my conversations with your ambassadors. I will now return you all to your countries of residence," Thor said he watched as the human contingent disappeared from his ship leaving him to his thoughts. "Bridge this is Commander Thor, I require a communications channel to the High Council immediately."

**USAF Prometheus**

**High Earth orbit**

"Ok that's it, the shit's hit the fan. Communications give me an all stations channel," Pendergast ordered. "All ships, all stations this is the Prometheus, as you are all no doubt aware by now the world at large knows of us and of what we are capable of. As of now I am authorised to enact Disclosure plan Alpha one. All stations are to go into lockdown until informed otherwise. The civilians know we're out here and will be looking for any proof of any dealings with alien technology, increase all patrols at the perimeters and inform the SGC or the Russian base of any incursions. Good luck people, Prometheus out."

"Sir, message from the O'Neill. It's General uh… O'Neill Sir. The communications officer looked rightly perturbed. "He's ordering the rotational cycle to begin. All ships are to begin refit and rearmament in daily cycles. We're first. General O'Neill will be staying on the… uhhh Asgard ship for the moment."

"Acknowledge the signal and inform the Odyssey and Daedalus that we're heading for the Nevada docks. Looks like the folks down there will get a hell of an eyeful when we land."

"Aye Sir."

"Advise Stargate Command that Flag has moved to the O'Neill, everyone else stay their positions. Put me through to the Jaffa ships."

"Jaffa ships are answering Sir, Master Bre'tac online.:"

"Bre'tac this is Pendergast-the public is in the know. Stand by for landing instructions."

"We have landing positions already situated on this planet Colonel Pendergast. We shall land there."

"Landing positions… oh hell no. We're in it enough as it is Bre'tac landing on the most precious monuments in Egypt will not go down well with anyone. I for one don't want to piss off anyone else if we can help it. We'll figure somewhere for you guys to land within allied areas, god knows where but we'll sort it."

"As you say, we shall await your orders."

"Thank you Master Bre'tac, Prometheus out." The channel closed, the technician frowned as a radio squeal interrupted the channels for a moment. Logging the anomaly the officer continued monitoring the myriad of radio and subspace channels his board was assigned to. "Sorry Sir, some kind of feedback from the connection."

"Understood, all hands this is Pendergast report to landing stations immediately. Helm begin descent manoeuvres."

"Descent manoeuvres aye, shields to re-entry levels, weapons are secured. All systems are green across the board." The ship's pilot said

"Take us down, Mr Scott."

Dropping from orbit the Prometheus plunged into the atmosphere its shields glowing under the pressure and heat of re-entry, unlike the other times the ship had been forced to return to Earth there was no need to keep their presence secret from bystanders. Anyone looking into the night sky above the United States would see a bright red shooting star heading directly for the surface.

The approach to the Nevada shipyards was as quiet and uninterrupted as normal, the roads towards the site however had become packed with tens of thousands of people. Members of the public from around the country had flocked to the area surrounding Area 51 and the Nevada shipyards. Somehow the information about the SGC's associated bases had become common knowledge, as they closed the bridge crew could see the thin linked chain fences and guard patrols have been replaced.

Hundreds of armed troops, machine gun nets, even artillery and armour had been deployed all around the perimeter of the base. Many looked up into the sky as the Prometheus began her downward approach, the view changed slightly as the orientation of the vessel smoothed out. The public began to scream and cheer as the Prometheus closed with the ground, arms and banners waved at the starship the shouts and praise of the majority of the crowd was sadly inaudible to the crew.

"Nice to see that we're appreciated once in a while." Gant smirked.

"Don't get too cocky Major, this could go downhill damn quickly."

"Yes sir."

A large number of protesters and hoodlums milling around closer to the fences a number of them shouting and swearing at the military personnel, as the bridge crew watched the more dangerous mobs began pelting the guards and the fence trying to break through into the guarded compounds. Bottles, rocks even a few home made Molotov cocktails smashed into the ground in front of the soldiers.

There was no response from the guard units, until the attackers broke the fences or attempted to physically force their way in the orders were to hold their positions. However a number of soldiers loaded their weapons with anti riot equipment, just in case it was needed.

Within the Prometheus herself an alarm sounded as the scanners picked up an incoming weapon, a single rocket propelled projectile slammed into the currently unshielded hull directly on the vessel's anti gravity drives. The Prometheus didn't even shudder as the report come in of the impact, with hull armour rated against plasma burst the man portable anti aircraft weapon did nothing.

"Major?" Pendergast asked.

"Hit from a single anti aircraft missile Sir, impacted on our portside anti gravity wave generator. No appreciable damage caused other generators are compensating for the damage."

"How did it get through the shields?"

"Shields were offline for a few seconds to restart, we lost cohesion of the fields during re-entry. He got a lucky shot in before the shields reset themselves."

"Track the launcher, I want to know where he is."

"Aye Sir."

The ship's sensors scanned the crowds on all sides attempting to find and track the position of the assailant, traces of propellant and other rocket propelled weaponry were easily traced by the advanced scans of the Prometheus. Several people within the area the attacker now occupied were treated to the sight of a small jeep and its passengers disappearing in a flash of light.

Both passengers of the vehicle were shocked as they appeared within the Prometheus herself, paced on all sides by angry marines and crewmen lugging rifles and machine guns. A light blue field separated the armed interlopers from the equally armed military forces.

"Got them Sir, they've been transported to the starboard hanger bay, forcefields are operational on all side, he's not going anywhere. Their weapons have been removed from the vehicle and placed within the armoury."

"Idiots, both of them. Begin landing procedure takes us in Major."

"Aye Sir, all sections are go for landing."

Several miles from the watching crowds two massive doors opened in the sand of the Nevada desert, cutting their thrusters the Prometheus simply lowered herself into the hidden dockyard landing gently on the pad below.

"Ship is down, all engines offline, systems to station keeping." Gant turned to Pendergast "Bay is secure Sir, gantries are in place."

"Thank you Major, now let's see what this joker has to say about himself."

**Assembly Point**

**Colonial Command Station**

The Battlestar Perseus jerked slightly as one of the half dozen tugs latched to its side pulled tight on its tow rope. The destroyer-sized vessel began to pull the forward section into place lining the 'head of the crippled warship up with the dry-dock. The three-mile wide command station was already inundated with the massive backlog of damaged ships, a dozen capital ships were docked sometimes forcibly cut open as the damaged airlocks refused to open. Twenty ships had already been deemed unsalvageable and were now being towed towards the outer system while Raptors and fleet auxiliaries streamed to and from, removing the last parts that could be of use repairing those vessels still combat capable.

On the Command deck of the station Admiral Cain watched stoically as more and more debris was stapled together for removal into the systems sun. A slight pang reverberated in her heart as she watched both of her ship's flight bays strapped to several other ship sections before being pulled away by an intact defence force warship.

The remaining center section of her flagship was slowly returning to life as the space-suited forms of the station's damage control teams swarmed over her. Debris and shrapnel that had penetrated the hull had been removed and the holes patched. Smaller sections of the hull had been totally replaced where the Earth ships had managed to penetrate her hull. Already her hyperdrive and main reactors had been restarted well away from the fleet with no faults found, however like many of the capital ships around Pegasus her sublight engines were still down.

Three salvaged thrusters from the junked Battlestars were being moved into place to replace the lost engines on the rear of her ship. It would take another two days to replace the engines and in that time Cain was more than wary about the possibility of an attack by the Earth humans and their inferior ships. The fact they hadn't already been found was already weighing heavily on her mind.

_Inferior? _Cain thought to herself _Smaller and lighter but _inferior_ they were not._

Staring out of the windows she was disturbed by another ship being shunted past. This one could barely be called a ship, little more than the rear of an Ares class destroyer melted and cracked right through it wasn't even suitable for hull patches. The remains of the once proud escort manoeuvred into the huge pile of debris and broken hull pieces nestling into a gap in the metal. Out beyond the crippled and dying ships stood the few ships of the grand fleet capable of defending anything. Adama's small force of ships had joined them in a loose perimeter beyond the crippled vessels allowing a much larger area to be patrolled. Small packs of destroyers and frigates sped around between the station and the fleet most crossing he perimeter to spread the DRADIS sensor net out further.

At the edge of the perimeter she watched as one of the fastest and most advanced destroyers in the remaining fleet broke away and disappeared into hyperspace for some unknown reason.

"Admiral Cain."

Cain's head swept round as her attention was snatched from the spectacle outside, her eyes reluctantly leaving her butchered command ship. Adama stood quietly and solemnly as he looked over the devastated Crusade fleet. A veteran of the first Cylon War he had seen his share of fleets wiped out of ships blown apart but not even he had expected losses on this scale.

"Hell of a mess Bill."

"Final reports are in. We've got most of what can be repaired back into serviceable order but half of those are going to take a week to get ready for long range jumps. I'm not sure we've even got enough ships left to take the entire surviving crews back to the firebases along the supply chain."

"We can't leave them here, not after what we saw. If those Tau'ri find us they won't take prisoners."

"You're not wrong." The voice had come from behind. Anders stood at the open briefing room door a pile of folders in her hands. The woman's anger was palpable as her dark eyes had turned close to black, keeping a blank look on her face she crossed the room. "From what I've seen we could be in deep shit very quickly. Both of you sit down we don't have much time to go over this before we get back to evacuating this place."

Settling into her chair she dropped folders open in front of the two other senior officers. Reports of casualties, losses and projected refit times were listed on each page. "Ok first of all what the hell happened out there?" Commander Anders asked. "I've been getting reports of damage to our ships that the yard dogs have never even seen before. Radiation types indefinable to any detection process we know of, entire flight decks blown apart or melted. Not only can't we figure out what the hell they've been using but we've finally managed to pin down the full losses of the fleet. One hundred thirty seven ships lost before you even managed to escape and another twenty two totally wrecked past the point of salvage or repair. In addition over eighty percent of your fighter groups were destroyed or depleted by the enemy. And according to DRADIS scans yet more were left behind by your ships with no chance of rescue."

"We frakked up," Cain murmured. "We got cocky and we frakked up."

"I've seen the after action reports Admiral. I want to know how we could have been deceived so damned easily? How the hell did they not only fool us into believing they had more ships than we believed but that the technologies they have are so damned powerful they killed three quarters of the entire fleet in less than a day?"

"Commander Anders, please settle yourself," Adama said quietly. "You have seen the intelligence that has been presented by the ships sent ahead before the attack. Our stealthstars and Raptor scans came back with nothing more than a few underpowered warships and even then they were smaller and less capable than ours. It seems that we needed to get closer than we did. The Intel was badly off especially in regards to their nuclear weapons and energy cannon on board the Prometheus."

"Three years of planning and build up destroyed in one day. The Intel on the Prometheus was mostly correct, APART FROM THAT GODSDAMNED ENERGY WEAPON. From what I can make out it was the saving grace of what we have remaining of our fleet is that they for some reason only have one of the frakking things operational, otherwise none of you would have come back."

"Once we realized what we were up to Commander, the Zeus began orders to leave the system as we tried to they began firing on our ships again. With the Viper losses and the ranges of their weapons, we had no chance of getting away without more losses. It was the bravery of Commander Cunningham and his Battle group that allowed the rest of us to get out."

"You were damn lucky they hit when they did. His attack took two of their ships out of the fight, but took all of his group to take them out both by simply ramming them out of the way. But that's not what worries me Admiral. I've already dispatched an FTL courier to the next station in line the colonies need to know what's happened here. The nuclear bombardment of the planet was inexcusable Admiral. We are here to bring the Earth humans back into line with the rest of our worlds. Murdering their people was not the way to do this and with their technological edge this could well be the biggest clusterfrak since the last war."

"Your forces will be integrated with the remaining defence force vessels we still have. Commander Adama will retain command until the evacuation gets underway. Every ship we have needs to be stripped down and refit with enough space to take everyone back to the colonies. If we have to dump fighters and any other auxiliary craft we will do so. Commander Adama, all of the ships under your command are being rearmed for whatever good that they may do against those ships, have them ready for action as soon as possible."

"Understood Sir," Adama answered. "The Valkyrie is undergoing her final checks as of this moment. The battle group will be ready to go within the next twelve hours. I need to do a full check on the still functional warships from Admiral Cain's fleet before I can be sure we have what we need to evacuate. The container and engineering ships are already being prepared as we speak. The injured will be out of our hair within a day or so. I've chosen the worst of the damaged ships to escort the injured out as well no sense keeping them here if we can help it."

"I'm ordering all munitions, fuel and supplies to as many ships as feasible. Whatever we don't take we destroy before the Tau'ri find us. The nukes we have in the silos will have to do to annihilate the stations. Anything left behind will be destroyed by the ships left behind to safeguard our retreat."

Cain's eyes raised. "It took us months to get this place operational and you expect us to get out within a week?"

"Yes _Admiral _I expect us to get out within a week, with less than a third of our people left it should be a quick and easy to do so." Anders eyes bored into Cain's own, she took a slightly disquieting please at seeing the older woman flush under the gaze a combination of both anger and embarrassment. "Even considering a good percentage of the crews of what is left of your fleet are ambulatory and are going out on the container ships, the loss of the fleet means that we'll be down a lot less than we need to be."

"Very well," Cain said. "But I suggest that we leave a number of ships as clear as possible in case we need to fight off a counter attack. Those ships that are still capable of capital scale combat as opposed to fighter based. Their shielding systems would make the launch of fighters suicide for the pilots just as their fighters attacking us head on would be."

"Are you volunteering your battle group Admiral?"

"If no other ships are deemed suitable then yes Sir. While the Pegasus is out the remainder of my group is one of the most advanced and hard hitting of any group in the colonial fleet. Once our nukes are rearmed we should at least be able to hold them back for a time. Past that, I don't know what use any of our ships will be."

"Very well maybe we can salvage something from this, we have two days until the Pegasus and the other ships we have are capable of returning to duty. Anything that can't be made FTL capable will be left behind and destroyed with the station. It'll take at least three days to complete the transfer of everything we need to as well as settle the remaining personnel into their ships."

"I will not accept the loss of any personnel whatsoever from this station. If the Tau'ri find us we drop everything and evac right then and there. I'll allow the ships to keep their fighters until we find the need to remove them for whatever reason. Battlestar Group Sixty Two will be detached and fully rearmed immediately. However your crews will have to do this themselves I can't spare the personnel."

"Understood," Cain said.

"Under my authority as Commander of this station and all assets under it's direct command, I am forced to relieve you of command of the fleet effective immediately, whilst you will still keep command of Group 62 you will now take orders from the Valkyrie or my office for as long as I see fit, Commander Adama!"

"Sir."

"I want you to begin deployment of Raptor gunships and scouts from the station and your Battlestar group to the surrounding systems. I want a long range picket to watch out for search teams from the Tau'ri the second they appear I want to know about it. Maybe a tripwire can get us the time we need to make a jump, otherwise have all ships continue at condition two for the foreseeable future." Anders grimaced at the folder's information. "Alright, dismissed both of you."

The two officers stood up and saluted the station's commanding officer before leaving the briefing room, unobserved Anders dropped back into her seat. The vehemence that she had aimed at her subordinate officers draining out of her as the exhaustion of the last few days finally caught up with her. She had thrown her anger at such incredible losses at Cain because of the Admiral's position as defacto commander of the survivors.

Her office windows gave the Commander a grand view of the station she had lobbied so hard to be granted as her new command instead of one of the fleets older Battlestars, less than a week ago she had watched as two hundred ships had formed up into their attack groups and headed out. Now it seemed that her grand career plan was in ashes. Only a handful of ships from the fleet returned to base and she had been force to scrap even more of them.

The remnants of the fleet had been given their orders and for now, she was all but useless until the orders returned from the Colonies as to the disposition of her forces. Rubbing her eyes she leant back into the chair opposite the windows, the Raptors that had been requisitioned for the 'Tripwire' in the surrounding systems began streaming from the hangers of her command station as the Valkyrie.

Flashes signalled the departure of the small scout craft away from the fleet. The plan was sound but even now she didn't give it much hope of succeeding. She had seen the footage of the original meeting with the Earth ship Prometheus, the little ship's speed had been incredible both at sublight and what passed for their version of FTL. Few if any of their ships could even hope of seeing off a ship even half as powerful as the Prometheus had been, even with the comparatively primitive nuclear and projectile weapons the Prometheus had been a serious threat.

Now their vessels were becoming larger and more technologically competent even compared to the colonial's own fleet, Anders thoughts turned to the logistics of her own command. It had taken them years of work to get this fleet in position only to lose the vast majority of the fleet to the earth born human, worse she now had to oversee the destruction of hundreds of billions of cubits worth of stations and material that had been carefully stockpiled for their 'victory' against Earth.

With the losses taken the surviving senior officers would have to take the rap for the failed mission. Cain and Adama would take flak from both the civilian and military sides but would likely get off with only a possible loss in rank or removed from active service on their respective flagships. For Anders however ,she knew that as the senior most officer still alive that she would be blamed totally for their failures.

Her reports barely scratched the true losses of the fleet, even days later the death tolls and damage reports were still incomplete as more damaged sections of ships were cut away only to show a large number of dead soldiers. Some had died of radiation exposure while still more had simply died of dehydration or loss of atmosphere, the greatest tragedy had been the discovery of twenty or so technicians caught in the starboard hanger bay of one of the damaged Battlestars. The oxygen content of the atmosphere when it had been breached by the engineers had been unbreathable and incredibly high in carbon dioxide. The reason behind this became clear as they found the technicians on the floor each had taken their own life with the single pistol found on the floor.

They had not been the first dead by their own hands and she was sure they would not be the last. She shared the common fear of all spacers of dying slowly in a crippled vessel but had been fortunate not to have been in a position like it. As time ran out for the fleet she would have to decide when to cease the SAR activities on their own ships and begin the full scale evacuation of the station itself. The crews would be pulling both pieces and entire bodies out of their ships for days if not weeks as they were forced to burn through collapsed bulkheads and blocked passages.

Closing her eyes Anders put the view of the devastated fleet out of her mind and tried to understand how they could have been so wrong about the Earth born humans and their place within the sphere of the colonies.

"Frak!" Cain slammed her closed fist into the back wall of the lift. Adama simply pressed the button for the main concourse of the station. "What a total frak up."

"We don't have much of a choice now really. The fleet has to be out of here before the Earthers find us otherwise we can say goodbye to everyone here. I'm ordering my task force to ship their fighters to the station's hangers and start taking on the wounded. We'll send the critical ships through within the next few hours."

"What about the defence of the station?"

"What could we hope to field against these people. Our Vipers are useless and even our most powerful nukes did nothing to them. Your own reports told me that it took a Battlestar at full burn to take out just one of their ships. We've no idea what else they've got there by now or what we could face if they find us. Once my fighters are stowed, I'll have my ships send every deckhand and engineer we can spare to assist with the resupply of your ships."

"That will be appreciated, thank you."

"Don't thank me yet Admiral. As soon as the bulk of your ships are resupplied they will be positioned as a roving patrol around the perimeter. Once the Pegasus is functional she'll go with them, you will meet up with DesRon Nineteen and take command of their ships as well."

"What about the missile ships?"

"What's left of the heavy missiles will be loaded onto them and left in close orbit of the station, all Viper patrols have been recalled and all fighters are in the process of being abandoned and their pilots shipped aboard the evac ships. Your group and the station's main Viper bays will have the only intact squadrons left."

"Understood."

"Dismissed Admiral, I'm sorry this has to go down this way."

"They'll throw the book at me no matter what happens now, might as well do something with my last tour." With that Cain left the concourse and headed for the dock where the Raptor was awaiting her return. Adama watched the proud woman walk smartly to her ship and headed for the docked Valkyrie. He had a bad feeling in his gut and Helena Cain was at the centre of it.

**Raptor Nine Six Three**

**En Route to the Pegasus**

Cain rubbed the bridge of her nose as the exhaustion she had been feeling over the days continued unabated from the little sleep she had managed to grab, the entire enterprise had gone from bad to worse culminating with the humiliation of having her fleet command stripped from her by the station's commanding officer. Ranking officer or not Cain had had to follow the orders of Commander Anders for good or for worse.

They needed a response to this outrage foist upon them by the Earth and soon before the 'Tau'ri' could mount any form of response, the plan would be simple but she could not do it with assistance from her battlegroup.

"Nine Six three to Pegasus CIC."

"Pegasus online."

"This is Cain, I want all senior officers of the battle group assembled in the main briefing room immediately. Tell them… tell them that we have a problem and I believe that we can solve it. One hour Major."

"Yes Sir, one hour."

"Nine Six three out."

**Supply Station Atropos**

**Colonial Supply Station**

The destroyer dispatched from the Command station flashed into existence within the jump zone beyond the defence boundary of the station, one of the most advanced ships in the fleet the Charybdis boasted a slim rounded hull and a massive engine block making the vessel faster and more agile than any of the heavy ships in the colonial fleet. Their transition into normal space had not gone unnoticed as the destroyer was forced to a stop well out of range of the station. A three ship destroyer flotilla intercepted the Charybdis within minutes of their arrival.

"This is Destroyer flotilla Nine Five Nine to Colonial vessel, stand down your weapons and transmit identification and clearance codes immediately. Failure to comply will result in the destruction of your vessel."

"This is Colonial Destroyer Charybdis, sending codes and Ident information. We request immediate clearance for close range jump to station orbit and immediate refuelling. Priority clearance is also being transmitted."

"Charybdis this is Acheron, codes have been authenticated. You will await the signal from Atropos station, then you will be cleared to jump. Acheron out." With the codes authenticated the three destroyers turned their guns from their fellow and accelerated back into their patrol pattern.

Moments later the Charybdis jumped as it received the confirmation of their close range jump and the precise co-ordinates they needed. The small destroyer flashed into existence a few tens of thousands of meters from the station itself, once again they were faced with another patrol group weapons active and targeting the new arrival. Viper squadrons had been launched by close by ships and the main station itself, their own missiles ready to fire.

Supply station Atropos was a massive structure dedicated to the resupply of multiple task forces and Battlestar groups close to the front line of any war. Spindly and grasping claws of metal held airlocks for supply ships and Raptors to dock and resupply. Heavier ships were forced to the bulkier umbilicals towards the edges of base itself.

The central hub was a bulbous structure dedicated purely to the habitation needs of the crews and soldiers that were stationed awaiting the orders to continue on. Marine drop ships, army landing barges and atmospheric capable gunships all milled around the structure docking and undocking continuing their drills. A hundred more supply ships were taking on the necessary equipment for the massive ground forces assembled for the invasion of Earth.

It was the single largest force assembled anywhere in the colonies' history. Soldiers from a hundred regiments and artillery, armoured vehicles even ground attack aircraft dedicated to this type of warfare had been carefully pooled together for this single operation.

Work crews in spacesuits or watching from the clear observation dome of the station watched as the Destroyer passed by the assembled ships as their crews took on the supplies necessary for the first attack wave. Not one man among the Colonials believed that this would be a cakewalk against the Earth humans . If one thing was certain it was that as advanced as the Colonials were that Earth would be capable of fighting on the ground almost on a par with their own

Its formidable firepower was at least as powerful as that of the forward command station, its heavy rail guns and missile batteries outgunned entire Baseship task forces as her armour and close in weapons systems were more than capable of picking off raiders or massed nuclear salvos. In addition her massive hangers contained wings full of Viper fighters and Raptor Recon/gunships. The station was powerful enough to hold off enemy ships until reinforcements could be gathered to fight back. The destroyer courier cruised to a stop close to the main station's support docks, the urgency of their mission had meant the closest dock had been cleared for their use.

"Apropos command to Destroyer Charybdis, come in."

"This is Charybdis actual. Sir you have received our orders. We request updated co-ordinates and refuelling for our jump to the next supply station."

"We've got your transmission Colonel. Is this meant to be some kind of joke from Anders because I'm not laughing."

"Negative Sir, the orders are very real as is the report from Admiral Cain within those orders."

"Very well your ship is cleared for full refuelling and you will receive the needed information as soon as we can confirm the necessary co-ordinates." Robinson paused. "What is the status of the fleet son?"

"Not good Sir. We've got the reports from the surviving commanders, but we're in bad condition. The necessary information is in the transmission Sir, I suggest that you read it as soon as possible."

"Understood, you will be cleared to jump as soon as you are ready." The commander said, "Good luck Colonel for all our sakes."

"Aye Sir, Charybdis out."

"What do you think was up with them Doberman?"

"No idea Hot Dog, seemed worried about something, maybe we took a few more ship losses than we thought. Doesn't matter, there's damn little that could hold back that fleet. Maybe we'll get to see the planet soon as the ground forces are called in, I'd like to see a new planet."

"Yeah, nice new planet with all those thankful women glad to be rejoining the colonies."

"Damn man, you should be renamed Horn Dog."

"Only saying it like I see it, all thirteen colonies now together everyone in this will be a hero back home and on earth. We're gonna get medals for this you know."

"Don't get cocky Hot Dog, got a way to go before we can say this is all over and done with."

"As long as I get back to my Raptor and the Triton I don't care. We're tapped as a command ship for the flotilla at Earth until we get their defences up and running. Hell I can't wait to see that planet the recon photos made it look like Caprica, any planet like that must be good."

"Yeah keep dreaming man, keep dreaming."

An alert screamed within the Viper's cockpits as the communications band was overridden across the entire fleet by the command station. The alert sounded meant only one thing.

Possible attack incoming.

"This is Viper Squad nine nine three to destroyer Wolfhound, reporting in. What the hell's going on out there?" Doberman yelled into the com

"Nine nine three this is Eclipse orders from command all ships are to go to Condition One until further notice. All fighters patrols are to double up, we've got a tanker enroute, to your location so get comfortable. We're gonna be out here a while."

"Understood nine nine three out."

"Something's frakked up out there Hot dog, something big."

"Whatever that destroyer was here for it sure as hell wasn't for landing craft. No one does a close range jump like that unless it's an emergency. I think that we're in a lot of shit over something."

"The Earth humans?"

"Or something. Keep your DRADIS at maximum range. If something comes in I have a feeling we'll need all the help we can get."

"Got it, I'm guessing all those thankful girls won't be waiting for us, huh?"

"Hot Dog, if we have anything waiting for us there I doubt it's hot and cold running women."

"Frak."

"That about sums it up, my friend. That about sums it up."

_**Atropos Command Deck.**_

_**Central Core**_

"Colonel Howard, put me on fleet wide."

"Communications, open fleet wide channels and transfer to the Commander."

"Channels open, Sir."

"Crewman and officers of the fleet this is Commander Robinson. A recent communiqué was brought to my attention by a Colonial unit attached to the forward command station. As you are all quite aware several days ago the liberation force was deployed to free the peoples of our sister world of Earth. The communication sent to this facility has informed us that the attack was an abject failure. Over one hundred and thirty-five ships failed to return to the command station. This message comes straight from Commander Anders' office and is backed up by documentation from Admiral Helena Cain of the Battlestar Pegasus.

Our orders are simple, all ground forces are to assemble on their ships immediately and begin preparations to return to the colonies. In addition all non-essential personnel are to report to assigned transports. The full evacuation of this station will begin immediately.

I know that many of you have friends or relatives within the fleet, however there is little to no information on the actual losses taken by the fleet past the ship numbers lost. It may be a while before any real information filters through to us until that time we should not give up hope on those that may have been lost to the Earth forces. For now all we can do is follow orders and begin the evacuation, all defence force warships are to stay at condition one until further notice. Robinson clear."

The Combat information Centre was silent as the commander cut the channel to the fleet. The crewmen looked at each other or at the Commander as the words sank into their minds. Their fleet had been almost wiped out within days of launch. No enemy had destroyed so much so quickly within their history.

"I need status on the ground forces and all weapons systems of the station and our fleet as soon as possible. Ready all Vipers for immediate launch and arm our Raptors with anti fighter missiles and nukes, keep all defensive systems at maximum readiness for the time being."

"Aye Sir, Sir should we post the list of lost ships?"

"No, morale is going to be bad enough as it is with the evacuation the list will just make things worse."

The major merely nodded and turned back to his console. "Sir the majority of the army's ships are still loaded with supplies. General Tendra says he'll need a day or so to have all his troops loaded onto their berths and ready to ship out. The supply ships can leave as soon as we tell them to go."

"Alright, have the supply ships go as soon as possible. All the drop ships and transports leave in their groups, all tankers are to head for the supply station further up the chain. We're going to need them if we're getting all our ships home. Dispatch a destroyer back to the command station and inform them we'll be ready for them with a day or so and will they require any assistance." Robinson's voice sounded weary as the events included in the report streamed through his mind. "Inform them we're willing to dispatch more ships from our defence force to bolster their own if necessary."

"Aye Sir."

Robinson strode away from his console and looked out at the fleet that had assembled within his purview; this was to have been a great victory for his people. Hundreds of thousands of the Colonies' finest troops fighting against those keeping the Earth from taking their rightful place as part of the thirteen colonies. Now they were being forced to run a full retreat back to the colonies, tens of thousands dead and the most powerful force ever assembled simply smashed as if they were nothing.

The printouts of the report were still on his desk inside his office. The first few pages had horrified him to the extent that he had been barely able to continue on reviewing the lists of dead ships, losses to the Earth humans and their incredible technologies. The list of Viper and Raptor squadrons wiped out en masse, the sole shining light had been the full retreat headed by Helena Cain.

"Major."

"Yes Sir."

"Begin evacuation procedures immediately. Alpha and Beta level and the medical staff are to stay behind. Everyone else is to get onto the army transports before they leave."

"What about the fighters and supplies we've got stockpiled Sir? There's tens of billions of cubits worth in the bays."

"We leave them behind the self-destruct systems will take care of them."

"This is a problem isn't it, Sir?"

"Major, it's more than likely that we've only touched on the problems we're going to have. We've awoken a sleeping lion and I think we've seriously frakked him off."

"What the frak, we're evacuating?"

"Looks like it, I knew those navy morons wouldn't be able to do it. Now we're stuck with the consequences."

"So that's it we just leave and go home, just let those Earth people win this. Hell send us anyway we'll take down their defences easy as that. A few nukes on the surface will have them begging to surrender. Then we walk in and show that the Marines can do what the navy can't."

"Stow it gentlemen, if we're ordered back home we go back home." The Gunnery Sergeant barked, "As much as you both disparage those Navy pukes, some serious shit must have happened to blow that fleet out of the sky. The same shit that would get every man jack of us blown apart just as easily, now shut your whining and get your gear stowed asap. Got it."

"Sir yes Sir."

"And you two have just volunteered with the clearing detail for the armour decks, we're taking on navy and army units for the evac and we need the room. Report to Major Caplan as soon as your gear is stowed." The sergeant grinned nastily, "You and the rest of the loudmouths can bitch to your heart's content, no move it the two of you don't want to be late for your appointment."

The Sergeant walked away from the two marines the smirk plastered on his face until he walked out of sight, the grin dropped from his face as he entered the empty senior NCO mess and he collapsed into one of the larger chairs scattered around the room.

"Charlie?" he heard a voice from the other side of the room, looking up he saw another of his regiment's Gunnery Sergeants. "Hell of a thing huh."

"One hundred and forty ships Dave, one hundred and forty."

"Yeah I know, some of the moron greenhorns around here have been bitching about the retreat. I can't say I blame them though, this was supposed to be the simplest attack we've ever had… now… now we're not even getting a look in."

"I'm not so sure Dave, the damn Earth humans obviously have better tech than Intel claimed otherwise we'd already be on our way. Gods know what they have on the ground, we could lose every drop ship as we went down."

"We need to go back, we need to show them the error of their ways."

"At the risk of tens of thousands more people? We can't take those kinds of losses again. we've lost more naval and fighter pilots in one day than we have in fifty years. How the hell can we do that again? By the time we get enough ships online they'll be ready to come after us, they know where we are and if they can kill our ships they can kill our worlds as well."

"They won't come after us, they killed our ships and we got out."

"I hope your right Dave, gods I hope your right."

Across the entire fleet the soldiers and marines of the ground forces streamed into the dropships and personnel carriers, weapons and supplies were sowed en masse by the station personnel. The army personnel returned to the ships they had arrived on, as the ships filled up they detached from the main station and into parking orbits alongside more of their sister ships.

The large troop carriers took on the supplies and the troop concentrations that had already debarked onto the station, the time limit was harsh for the military but they were taking on who and what they could before the time limit was up. Naval personnel and fighter pilots that had been pulled from their duties were hastily packing their meagre belonging and reporting to the ships as ordered.

Only hours after the order to evacuate came through the first flotilla of troop ships merged and jumped away from the supply station hot on the heels of the courier destroyer that had already begun their jump to the next station in the line. Angry and frightened at what had happened the morale of the army had dropped to the floor, it wasn't known what would happen next between the thirteen worlds but many believed they would be at the forefront of it.


	4. Chapter Three

Chapter 3

_**Presidential Residence**_

_**Caprica City**_

_**Caprica**_

Richard Adar continued to smile the 'political' smile that he had perfected during his rise to the upper echelons of Government. His tenure as President had made him friends as well as enemies all across the colonies themselves, military, political, and civil. Even a number of the major corporations had begun funnelling funds to oppose his upcoming re-election.

For now however he was more than satisfied with his manipulation of the best and the brightest as well as the more 'powerful' people of the colonies. The current party was simply a way for him to integrate himself closer to those he knew could keep him in power. Many of the people around him would be of use to Adar when he came for his next term, their babbling nonsense and obvious greed was something he would use against them.

Facing them with his best politicians' demeanour, Adar mingled with people that ordinarily he saw as little more than parasites clinging to his skin. The massive tables to each side were full of food and drinks some of the most expensive and rich available to the Colonies. As President he had a legacy to live up to and it wouldn't do to make it look like he was skimping on anything. Caprican wines and Tauron spirits were the prized selections he had had imported from off world. Cheeses, breads and fruits coupled with rare delicacies from the seas of Sagittaron although illegal to most were easily come by for a man of his position as well as those of most of his guests.

"…Yes I do believe that the market will continue to rise in electronics insofar as…"

"…Those ghastly Taurons and their silly little religious demands we should have finished what we started before those damn articles of…."

"… He is you know, and he's married too. I wonder what kind of hold he has over her…"

Adar smothered a frown as he listened to the inane chatter as he sipped from yet another flute still smiling as people passed him. It seemed his extra curricular activities were not as discreet as he thought. It didn't matter too much to him it would be quite easy to remove his lady friend from her position of authority perhaps even make an example of her somehow. The smile became more authentic as he mused on the idea of getting rid of his mistress with a quick and easy plan and the current education strikes could very well be a way for him to do so.

"Hell of party Dicky." The loud voice had come from behind him by a short and much overfed middle aged man who now tottered towards the President.

Adar mentally sighed and again merely smiled at the interloper.

"You really know when to pile it all on don't ya old man."

"Joseph how nice to see you, obviously you are enjoying yourself."

"Hell yes, great booze and food and as always the lovely ladies you seem to surround yourself with." The man slapped the backside of one of the waitresses that were cleaning and restocking the tables, the red cheeks and glassy eyes expression on the man's face was more than telling about his current state of mind. "Makes me damned glad I voted for you too, keep this up and you'll have the votes of my entire company one way or another, even if I have to sack a load of the little bastards."

Biting the end off a cigar he spat the sodden tobacco onto the floor and lit up blowing blue-grey smoke in front of him, Adar's inner voice was screaming to get away from the man but for all his old friends' vices and personality traits he had been a loyal and profitable ally against the other candidates for his job.

"I think that can be arranged Joe, I know how you like these things. Besides I've managed to lever a few dozen bottles for your collection, including a few I know you'll love."

"Oh really, like what?" the man smiled widely around his fat cigar

"Not much just one of the last bottles of the Signer's batch."

"No frak?" the fat man looked wide eyed, the most expensive and desired wine in current times was his for the taking. Smugly looking at the President Klein believed he had finally got one over on the stupid politician.

"Indeed not. I wouldn't lie to you. Two bottles actually and a few from Tauron before their little prohibition thing."

"Damned religious screw ups, glad we ain't got them kinda morons over here." Joseph's voice boomed louder.

Adar found himself favouring the fact that the background chatter was still too loud and absorbing that most didn't even hear the fat man's diatribe.

"It's worse with those damned Sagittarons as well, so high and mighty and righteous even refusing to lift a frakking finger to even build the fleet. Next time let the Cylons have their planet we'll just nuke it till the Cylons leave again. Then we'll see how well those freaky bastards go when there's not medicine for their ills because it's against nature."

"Excuse me, Mister President." An aide walked up. "You have a prior engagement awaiting you."

"Ahh, of course, my apologies but do excuse me Joseph I have some business to take care of, the price of being the President I suppose."

"Not a minute to yourself eh? Take your time Dick; I've got plenty to keep myself occupied."

"Good work Duncan. See if you can find someone to keep him occupied for now."

Adar walked away from the businessman, his plastic grin falling away as his disgust began to overpower him. He had yet another one of the leeches in his pocket. It was still a long road to go before he could confirm he would have no trouble in being re-elected as still more of his plans had to come to fruition before he made any more moves. He continued to watch over the proceedings making small talk with the so called 'up and coming' people of Caprica.

However in spotting a familiar face Adar began to smile a real self satisfied smirk, gesturing for some of his 'special stock' he picked up two flutes and walked across the room. It seemed that at least another of his longer ranged plans may indeed begin that night. The man looked up from his perusal of the delicacies at the approach of Adar.

"Good Evening, Mr President."

"Ahh Good evening Doctor Baltar, glad you could join us.""

"Thank you, it was kind of you to invite me to your reception Sir, although I am not sure why someone like me should be included in such august personage. I doubt it was simply my charm and looks that would guarantee me an invitation especially directly from the President's own office."

"Well that my dear doctor is a good question. Excuse me one moment." Adar walked over to one of his aides and whispered into her ear, the young woman nodded her understanding and walked over to Baltar. "Miss Alexander here will escort you to my offices Doctor; I will be with you quite soon."

"Doctor Baltar, if you will follow me." The stunning brunette smiled at the scientist gesturing towards the far exit; plastering a charming smile onto his face he followed the young woman from the main ballroom. His view of her posterior turned his smile into a smirk as his imagination began to run as it usually did in these situations. "The President will be with you momentarily, please help yourself to a drink if you wish."

"That is gracious of you my lady, won't you join me?"

"I'm sorry I'm on duty for the moment." She smiled slyly. "Maybe after the party, say Midnight?"

"I look forward to it."

The young woman stepped backwards out of the room leaving Baltar to his drink. The scientist looked around the spacious room at the myriad of furnishings that belied the power that Adar had. A view of Caprica city dominated the landscape beyond the massive windows lining a wall of the office.

"A master overlooking his minions," Baltar murmured to himself as he took a drink, "To oversee that which is created and bound…"

"…is to view into the very soul of those that came before and would come thereafter, Sarah Dionisus." Adar's voice came from behind Baltar. "You are quite the learned man Dr Baltar. Indeed it seems I may have made the correct decision when I had you called here tonight. Please take a seat."

Chagrined at being overheard, Baltar took the proffered seat opposite the President. Adar poured himself a generous amount of alcohol and sat down. Lighting up a cigar he looked Baltar over, the younger man seemed over confident in himself and his abilities. The perfect person for Adar's continued position in government. Leaning back, he removed the cigar from his mouth blowing smoke into the air.

"Doctor, over the last few years I've been in negotiations with the chiefs of staff of the military about paring down the fleet size as well as the military as a whole. This was derailed somewhat by the arrival of the Earth ship Prometheus a few years ago which I'm sure you remember. About three days ago the first fleet would have started their attack on Earth to bring them under our scope of power. In the next few days we should have a new world to draw upon."

"I understand that Mr President, but…"

"Why are you here?" Baltar merely nodded. "One of the negotiations around keeping the fleet at its current levels was to tie the ships into one main system, a command program that every ship would use to simplify maintenance and repairs to their systems. I'm sure you have already heard about this through your… contacts shall we say."

"I'm aware of the contract, yes. It's to be put out to the best companies and programmers in the colonies. Whoever has the most comprehensive system and possibly the cheapest price will get this am I right?"

"Somewhat Doctor, cigar?"

"No thank you I prefer my own." Baltar lit up. "I'm aware of the contract and that my team will put in a bid for it when it goes public, we're more than capable of building this program from scratch if we have to."

"Now that is precisely what I wanted to hear. I've been following your work over the years and I believe you are quite correct in your belief that we have been holding ourselves back out of fear of the Cylons." Adar smirked at the younger man. "The entire 'competition' as it were is just a smokescreen for the project. We'll entertain the other candidates as well as the military over this but the entire project will in fact be handed squarely to you."

"That's… generous Sir, why me?"

"As I said, I have been following your career for some time. Your campaigns to increase computer efficiency as well as advancing electronics struck a cord with me. I will be the first to admit that I was not around during the Cylon war, but the fact that an enemy from half a century ago has retarded our progress through fear is something I believe needs to change."

"You have read my work Mr President I must say I'm honoured that you think the same way. However the majority of the fleet must still be wary of the 'Cylon threat," Baltar said derisively. "Why would they allow a single program to network their shipboard systems together?"

"They have little choice in this matter. Several of the more forward looking officers in the fleet have been given shall we say 'assistance' in their careers. They have managed to increase the networking as computer efficiency on all refitted or newly build warships for the past few years. Oh, there are some hold outs still determined not to conform with the rest of the fleet but this new system will force the remaining ships to follow the directives."

"Pardon me Sir but isn't that a bit presumptuous? The Cylons were able to hack into the ships of the early Colonial fleet and kill their crews. Our new programming languages are quite different but there is the danger they could be bypassed by the Cylons. That is one reason I believe we need faster and more powerful systems." Baltar took a drag from his cigarillo. "I did assist on the firewall and anti virus systems on the recent fleet upgrade but we are still not totally sure we will be able to go toe to toe with the Cylons in an information war."

"I think we've reached the stage that the Cylons will have problems, I've been watching your work and those like you with the new languages and with the increase in computing power of the newly networked systems on our ships. I don't see the Cylons having much of a chance against our improved systems." He paused. "Of course especially with your new layered programming."

"I… how..." Baltar began to mumble, his work was still only in the prototype stages buried deep in his own computer within his company. "You can't know about that…"

"There's very little I don't know about your work Doctor. My position comes with some quite impressive abilities. You are possibly one of the best programmers in the colonies Doctor and I think you will be quite an asset when it comes to the upgrades for the fleet. I don't need your answer now but think about it and let me know what you decide. I can promise you that if you come through with this you will be aptly rewarded not only by the military but by my own office as well."

"That is quite generous Mr President; I think you may have made the right choice in contacting me. I will need to see how my team holds up over the next few weeks, all second stringer types you see. I'm gradually training them up but what can I do." Baltar's shock had turned to arrogance as his ego took the forefront, "But I don't see any problems with taking this project on."

Adar congratulated himself on the ease of his victory against this little man. This plan would bring the budgets within the fleet and the defence commands down. Granted he had had to allow for a few new Battlestars to be built to replace a few of those he had forcibly had decommissioned but he would always be able to cut more funding down the road. For now he had the programmers in his pocket as well as the majority of the companies involved in the refit. Joseph Klein and now Gaius Baltar would make him a very rich and very popular leader.

"Good, good. That's precisely what I wished to hear Doctor. The information will be sent to your residence by Presidential courtier tomorrow morning I think that you will be able to look it over and possibly see your way to starting the project early."

"I will indeed Sir; your confidence in me will be repaid."

"That is all I ask Doctor. Now I believe that we should get back to the party people will wonder where we got to."

"Indeed Sir."

The party itself was still in full swing as the two gentlemen returned to the main ballroom, almost immediately the President was pulled away from Baltar by members of his cabinet. Baltar watched as Adar came up short in front of a striking middle aged woman that he recognised as a secretary of something or other, something to do with that silly little teacher's strike.

Baltar's interest was piqued as he watched the two politicians in their cozy little chat, both were trying their best to seem as if they were simply talking about politics or any of a number of mind numbing anecdotes that they might share. Watching closely he could see how the barest of changes happened in their body language as they talked, a little to comfortable in his opinion for simple co-workers.

Slightly too close together even with the noise of the room around them than was necessary. The slight touches and the way that the woman's entire demeanour softened around Adar's presence was a telltale sign. It seemed to Baltar that the rumours about the old fool and his dalliances may be quite true. He had seen the looks and actions on women many times over the years just before he got what he wished from them.

Smiling to himself he knew now that his position in the hierarchy would now assured for quite some time, his slow and surreptitious climb up the ladders until he finally came to the view of someone important had been exhausting. Hiding his true origins had been even worse without access to some of the more complete databases on his homeworld he could be quite easily found out. With luck this new 'contract' would allow him to find and eliminate whatever records remained.

With evidence of Adar's questionable activities he knew he would be able to obtain, Baltar could cut his own deals when the time came. He would have to keep an eye on things around the capital for the next few years. Some of those things could get very interesting indeed.

Snatching another drink he scanned the room committing to memory the faces in the room in case they came in later, he stared at the pretty brunette he had a 'meeting' with later on. His eyes focused on her quite satisfactory curves so much he barely noticed as a voice came from the side talking to him.

…asi. It is nice to meet you Doctor Baltar."

Annoyed at the interruption he turned away from the lovely Miss Alexander and scowling he spoke abruptly, "I'm sorry I…. am very pleased to meet you indeed." His tone and expression changed as he focused on the originator of the voice beside him, he was captivated almost immediately by the blonde haired vision in front of him. "Gaius Baltar."

"As I was saying, it is an honour to meet the man who is speaking out for the improvement of our computer systems from their, shall we say, 'limited' aspects."

"Indeed, you know much about the advancement in computers?"

The blonde's full red mouth slipped into a smile as she worked her charms of the scientist, this would be easier than she thought. Raising her head slowly she brushed some strands of hair away from her face, hand trailing down her neck slightly she allowed the man a clear view of her cleavage.

Baltar's eyes followed the woman's hand down her neck as she brushed her hair back, her sizable bosom arched out as she did so, this was one woman he would be very please to get to know better. Her smile spread as she realised her mission may well be enjoyable and they had chosen her target quite well.

"You could say that Doctor Baltar."

"Gaius please."

"Very well… Gaius."

**Marine Landing Ship Euripides **

**Supply Station Atropos**

**Colonial Supply Station**

The area around the supply station was swarming with ships, landing craft, and carriers docked in rows of four or five to the larger arms of the construct. Smaller drop ships and supply craft were landing or taking off from the cavernous hanger bays. Already more than three score of the smaller vessels had pulled away and were heading for the marine and naval warships.

A number of small flashes of light signalled the departure of the first group of ships from the convoy forming up a few thousand miles from the station. Raptors and Vipers separated from the massed troop ships heading back towards their berths. Already a dozen squadrons of fighters and their attached Raptors had been forced to abandon their ships and now stood in sealed, decompressed hangers within the structure.

A little less than a third of the marine transports and supply ships were still anchored to their docking arms or clamped onto the myriad of airlocks, weapons, munitions, food, water, anything that could be picked up and stowed aboard was grabbed and moved. With the majority of the expeditionary forces' air support and scout craft being moved out space was being put aside for both the supplies and the crews that were being evacuated from the station.

The flood of personnel had long since been reduced to a steady flow in and out of the largest of the Marine vessels. Smaller lines connected the supply ships to the major storehouses. Bucket brigades were humping crates and lockers, boxes and containers to the supply vessels, those filled completely breaking dock and settling into parking orbits 'above' the connecting arms.

"Alright move it people, this ain't a pleasure cruise."

The Gunnery Sergeant pushed through the milling soldiers around him. They had been given a day or so to evac this station and already the majority of the armoured divisions have been reloaded with their vehicles already in place. The larger regiments had already embarked and joined up with the convoy beforehand. All that was left was to get the last few foot regiments and the non essential personnel aboard.

Two dozen marines were handling crates of ammunition and guns through the hatches locking them down in the cargo bays. Vehicles and heavy guns were already stowed in their lines waiting for a combat drop that would never happen. The gunny pulled on a number of the straps holding the bulky APCs in their places, satisfied he turned to the marines.

"Get those rifles stowed greenhorns, we don't want them breaking open and smashing the frak out of everything." He pulled on yet more straps noting they were secure, he turned to see one of the more junior NCOs approaching. "What is it Wally?"

"Message from the CIC Sergeant, the ships' second FTL coil is down; number one won't be enough to take us where we need to go."

"You gotta be frakking kidding me."

"Sorry boss, the ship was undergoing maintenance before we were to leave for Earth they've barely been able to get the ship ready for space let alone give us FTL. We're not going anywhere."

"Has the captain signalled the station?"

"Yeah, they know we're out of action for the moment. Problem is so are a half dozen more ships, nobody thought we'd need to head back home so quickly let alone make plans for this."

"Damn it, alright Corporal keep an eye on these idiots," Gunny said. "I'll deal with this."

Pushing through the rapidly filling barracks the Sergeant pushed through the throng of marines bunking down or stowing equipment, several of the more 'green' recruits scampered out of the way as soon as they saw angered non-com storming through the main corridor. Heading towards the CIC the Sergeant narrowly missed colliding with the ship's executive officer Colonel White, the older man seemed as out of sorts as the non com was.

"Sir."

"Gunny, report please."

"Ninety percent of our assigned forces have been barracked down, supplies and equipment have been prioritised and are being loaded as and when space is found. We're going to be leaving a lot of stuff behind Sir especially with the excess personnel we're extracting from the station."

"How long until we're full?"

"About twelve hours Sir, but that ain't the problem."

"The FTL engines again." It wasn't a question. "I'm aware of the problems Gunny, we're next in the line for the shipyards we'll better be out of here soon or we might as well forget it. With luck we'll be able to finish repairs on the engines there, keep an eye on your own people this though is going to be rough."

"Aye, Sir."

"Gunny."

"Sir?"

"What's the morale situation down below?"

"I'm not sure what you mean Sir. The men are soldiers and they do their jobs."

"Knock it off gunny; you know damn well what I'm talking about. How are your men taking the losses?"

"Permission to speak candidly, Sir."

"Never been a problem normally, Ralph. What the hell's wrong with you?"

"Frankly Sir, the loss of most of the ships and every fighter we sent against Earth has pissed off and scared every marine I've talked to. Most of the hot heads are determined to prove their worth against the Earth ground forces no matter what. I've got dozens of the greenhorns convinced that if the Navy can't do it leave it to the people who can," the Gunny growled. "I can't say I blame them. We all believed that this would be an easy fight to bring that damned planet into the Colonial sphere of influence and what does it get us? Almost quarter of a million dead and the entire Colonial military running like hell."

"You've seen the footage Gunny, you know frakking well what would happen if we tried this again."

"Yes Sir, I have and I know we'd get blown to shit before we got anywhere near the surface. Those godsdamned Earthers could have any just about anything ready to pick us off both in orbit and on the surface. But we want to fight back somehow make them pay for the deaths of our people, but I know we won't. Until we can find a way to defeat their ships without sending massive numbers of our ships to their destruction we have to pull back, Gunny. If it helps most of us that stayed behind wish we could do the same thing. The Earthers had it easy this time but we'll get our revenge old friend one way or another."

"The majority of my men are more than willing to take the fight to the Earthers, Sir. But we need to do something to temper their emotions; otherwise we could see a lot more than arguments on our ships especially if we're not going anywhere."

"Have some of your more capable NCOs seal the armouries and vehicle decks just in case. If necessary depressurise them to keep them shut. I don't want any hotheads starting something no matter how well grounded they are supposed to be. I've seen too much in my career to allow something like this to happen- understand?"

"Yes Sir. Understood."

"Dismissed, Gunnery Sergeant."

"Sir," the other man barked, turning on his heel as he marched out of the Combat Information Centre and back to the bunks. The ship's Commander watched the younger Non-Com march away through the bulkhead door. Turning back to the DRADIS display he watched as another group of ten ships disappeared from the screens, the evacuation was underway.

**Command Operations**

**Supply Station Atropos**

During the run up to the final installation of the Command station and the massive fleet of warships for the Crusade, the Operations Centre of each of the gigantic supply stations had been bustling with crewmembers at times over crowded with repair crews, construction crews, and the Station's own officers controlling the station. With the abject failure of the attack on Earth by their forces, the crews had been evacuated from all but essential stations. Less then ten percent of the command and construction crews now remained within Atropos' hull. The orders from the command station had followed only hours after the first courier had arrived. One by one each of the stations would be informed by a courier from the next station.

"Hanger support crews have been relieved of duty Sir so we're down to minimum personnel. All we've left are the evac Raptor pilots and the fuelling and maintenance crews."

"Status of the hangers."

"Main hanger is stuffed full, Sir. All fuel and ammunition has been stored there. It'll make a hell of a bang when she goes up."

"Any more Vipers to come off the fleet?"

"Just the recon and courier Vipers Sir. They'll be diverted to the other landing bays."

Looking over the reports Robinson was annoyed at the number of ships stuck there had once again risen. What's more three of them had been the largest of the troop transports in the Colonial fleet. Already he had overfilled the other vessels just trying to get his people out before the Earther humans began their search. Although nothing had come from the tripwire ships he wasn't convinced that they would even know about the enemy ships until it was already too late.

"Damn, XO how many ships do we have down at the moment?"

"At least sixteen Sir. The operational ships are all but jammed full. Units are being reassigned where there's room within the convoy. We've had to pull out the entire armoured company off of the Tiberon and the Tyran just to find room for everyone to get off the station. The remaining ships in dock will just about fit the rest of the skeleton crew that are being left behind."

"As soon as the convoy is settled give the order, all remaining ships to jump to the next station in assigned orders immediately."

"Aye, Sir." The stations exec Colonel Howard spoke into a radio. "Communications, this is the exec- section three, immediate jump. All other sections follow at standard intervals of one hour once ready. All recon squadrons return to base immediately."

A host of affirmatives came from the communications suite as the DRADIS display changed again the first few ships in the multi million mile long convoy disappeared from the screens as they jumped. The relief was short lived however as a second larger group of ships had appeared at the other end of the system from the assembling evacuation ships.

A second later the entire station went to Condition one as the automated tracking systems alerted the defence crews to the arrival. Cannons, missile bays and point defence weapons came online fully manned as the last of the signals appeared on screen. The Viper squadrons already incoming veered away from the station directly towards the incoming vessels.

"Unidentified signals Commander, count of at least twenty targets…" Howard said as his hands flew over his console. "Six capital class fourteen escort-sized… we're getting a data burst."

The signals on the tactical readouts flickered then cut out completely. One by one the unknowns reappeared this time with numbers and identity codes next to each of the representations.

"It's the first convoy from the Command station Commander, Battlestar Argos signals as flagship. Sir they re running a six one six from all ships, medical emergency. We've got three Viper squadrons converging on the convoy."

"Order the Vipers to escort the ships in, and get me a channel to the Argos..."

"Yes, Sir."

"This is Atropos Station to Battle group Argos, come in."

A few seconds later the reply came back muffled and distorted. "This is Atropos Station, say again Argos we didn't get that."

"….mitter damage…. ttl..sta… Phoen…."

"We've lost the signal Sir, however we are receiving transmission from the Battlestar Phoenix. Commander Stackman commanding. He's requesting immediate refuelling for the smaller ships in the fleet."

"Put him on."

"..say again request immediate refuelling for destroyer escorts."

"This is Commander Robinson, we receive you."

"Good to hear you, Sir. This is Stackman, Argos' radio has blown. She's transmitting in flash code. Radio should be operational within a few minutes."

"Understood Commander, what is the status of your forces?"

"All ships are spaceworthy but damaged. All weapons systems and fighter bays have had to be cleared out in order to carry the worst of the injured that can be moved, so we're basically unarmed. All heavy ships are in good repair and capable of another jump but the destroyers are in need of refuelling."

Looking to his exec Robinson asked, "status of fuel reserves, Colonel."

"Six container ships are still locked down and taking on fuel, we can get them moved to the other side of the dockyards until the convoy are refuelled," he replied. "The ships are some of those with dead FTL drives, the dockyards were their next stop."

"We're clearing the refuelling stations now Commander. As soon as the ships there are moved you'll be free to dock you ships. Do you require any other assistance?"

"Medical if you have it you Sir, plus any spare carbon dioxide filters that can be brought across. Our medics and support systems are on the edge of collapse. It's gonna be a rough few days either way, Commander."

Signalling the traffic control personnel to talk in the smaller warships Robinson turned back to his phone. Watching the flickering signals of the damaged fleet ships he brought the phone up again.

"Most of the medical staff are already bunked down on the ships assembled for FTL. We'll see what we can scrounge from those still docked as well as our own infirmary. It won't be much but it'll be what we've got Commander. The scrubbers we'll load onto the cargo shuttles and send them over. We've got enough of them to as least help."

"Anything would be helpful, Sir. The damage to our systems was not fully repairable back at the station."

Sighing Robinson stared at the DRADIS screen as the fighter and Raptor squadrons began to converge with the crippled warships. Hand tightening around the solid plastic of his communications phone his voice fell so low as to be indiscernible.

"How bad is it, Commander?"

"Bad enough Sir, bad enough," was the succinct answer.

**Colonial Naval Command**

**Picon Anchorage**

"…she managed to turn that Viper inside out and back to front in a second or so. I've never seen anyone move like that."

"Where is she now?"

"Where do you think?"

"Hack again?"

"Pissed off the CAG of her ship. She's being sent elsewhere now."

"She's already been chucked to the bottom of the pile…. Oh, no, not that rust bucket?'

"Yup she…" The conversation cut off as the defence alert cut in, klaxons started to ring as the DRADIS systems locked onto the newly arrived ship. A second later, identification codes from the ship were transmitted directly to the Anchorage's command station.

"It's the Charybdis."

"She's with the Assault fleet they sent against Earth. What the hell's she doing here?"

'No clue, but the comms traffic she's sending is Priority Alpha clearance from Commander Anders… Joint Chiefs' eyes only."

"Oh hell, get them up here. I think we're in some serious shit."

"Got it. I hope they've got some strong coffee in the mess. I think we're all gonna need it before this is over."

**Department of Homeworld Security**

**Washington DC**

**United States**

"Ladies and gentlemen we have a problem right now." General O'Neill stood at the very end of the table. "We're down to less than half our fighter and half our warship assets. The three ships we have operational will rotate from their orbital positions back to the planetary surface periodically. The other ships remaining are both out of action for the foreseeable future. Colonel Chekov?"

"Thank you General, the Korolev has been secured within one of our recent construction sites within the Ural Mountains. The repair estimates by our engineers has put the rebuild at least two months provided we get the materials from the United States government. The base will allow us to continue these repairs for the foreseeable future. In addition the majority of our damaged 302s will be operational within three weeks, our losses have been severe but we will continue construction." Chekov leant back. "The supplies we have to hand are enough to repair the remaining vessels in our fleet but not much else. The squadron losses for the 302s have been immense leaving us woefully vulnerable if another attack is launched."

"The bottleneck of supplies we have will be redistributed to the allied forces as and when they are needed by each country. The Prometheus and Ajax are is as much need of repairs and completion as any of our vessels," O'Neill replied. "Commodore Hudson?"

"Ajax has taken some damage to her power and shield generation systems. The incomplete field stabilisers allowed some of the impacts to dangerously degrade the shielding. In addition a number of their heavier gun rounds made it through the gaps in the coverage. Its put her construction and commission back at least six weeks. She'll be fully ready for action in about three months. The good news is that the second bay will be ready in three weeks and other squadrons of F302s will be operation around the same time as the Ajax is completed. However we've been forced to scrap almost half of the fighters that made it back it's the components salvaged that have repaired and increased the speed of production."

"Good that means that both our ships should be operational at the same time." Chekov said, "I am afraid however that after the construction of what we have left even with resources given to us from the United States we will be nine months from commissioning any more spacecraft. Our surplus parts will be essential to keep our vehicles flying, leaving nothing to construct new ships."

"Our French and Chinese allies have sent their own information it seems," Hudson spoke up. "We enquired about the possibility of using what spares we all may have to construct fighters or Daedalus class ships. It seems though while the Chinese held their forces back somewhat they were not lying about the amount of ships they had. They have been unable in accelerate their production due to the weapons and munitions based embargo the United States has levied on them. Their forces have been badly mauled leaving them no choice but to decommission and use the parts available to rebuild their forces. The French are even worse off, the fighters that returned will give them two squadrons worth of fighters and some spares they'll need to keep everything running."

O'Neill stood up and stepped behind his chair. "The fact is gentlemen that we're pretty much screwed. We don't have the parts or the pilots to build new fighters or warships, were three months from any acceptable build up of our forces. The United States' space fleet has been cut down to half it's size, we lost the Apollo and the damage to the Prometheus' main weapons has to be repaired by the Asgard and our own people which will take at least as week. Like everyone else it's going to take time for us to mine, refine and build the parts needed just to build up a few planes. Now the Colonials haven't hit us again…yet. The Asgard and Jaffa are picketing the surrounding space but they wont know the Colonials are here until they are right on top of us."

"Their FTL is very impressive. I've seen the basic theories from the briefing packets but seeing it in action was something different," Hudson said. "It also makes them dangerous."

"One ship in the right place at the right time and Earth will become destroyed world. Does the SGC know of anything to block their passage so close to the planet?"

"Nothing yet, the Asgard are working with both the SGC and Area 51. Damn thing is that they only jumped out that far because we weren't seen as a risk to their fleet. Intel is gathering what they can from the survivors but God knows what they were thinking outside of 'Us Good Them Bad'…."

O'Neill's briefing was brought to a halt by a flash of light. As it receded Thor appeared in its place flanked either side by Sam Carter and Daniel Jackson.

"Thor, Sam, Daniel, what's goin' on?"

"I have unfortunate news, O'Neill. The Asgard council has recalled all available heavy ships back to Orilla immediately. As the fleet commander it is my duty to return to the head of the fleet. My use of the O'Neill to defend Earth was only a temporary duty and as such I am afraid that I will be leaving within the next twenty four hours."

"Ahh crap, any chance of getting a replacement?"

"That's the good news Sir," Carter explained. "The majority of the ships being called back to the Asgard homeworld are their larger or more modern warships. We managed to wrangle a pair of older Beliskner class ships to bolster our defences for a while at least until the fleet is back in the air."

"We as a race owe much to the humans of Earth but our own race is involved in an experiment that may well change who and what we are. The two ships we are sending are no match for even one of the upgraded O'Neill class, but will be enough to defend your planet against any attack by the Colonials could mount. I am sorry that we cannot do more than that but this is a very inopportune time for both our races, my apologies but I do not have a choice in this matter."

"Not your fault Thor. Good luck on whatever it is you are doing."

"I shall return when it is possible."

Another flash of light appeared and Thor was gone leaving the five humans alone. O'Neill turned to the other officers and dismissed them from the meeting. The change in operations now that Thor was leaving would need to be done as the two Beliskners arrived.

Sitting back down at the table Jack unbuttoned his jacket. "Hey kids, how's things at the mountain?"

"Not good, Sir." Carter sat down next to O'Neill while Daniel sat in the opposite chair. "It leaked out that Cheyenne is the head of at least part of Blue Book. No one knows out what exactly but I'm not sure the SGC will stay undisclosed for long not now the entire planet is watching the movements of the IOA countries. The Prometheus and Ajax have been positively sighted as have a number of our F302 airfields. Just before we arrived we had a message from Colonel Pendergast. The Prometheus was attacked on final approach to her landing facility."

"Great what happened?" O'Neill groaned.

"They launched a shoulder mounted anti-aircraft weapon directly into the underside of the Prometheus at close range. It damaged some of the antigravity emitters. The explosive head didn't manage to pierce the hull however it will mean the repairs will take longer than we originally thought."

"Damn Pendergast musta been pissed."

"He was unhappy, Sir. The culprits were discovered by a scan of the area and detained. The two men have been transferred to the NID for interrogation."

"Great, that's the last we'll see of them. Anything else going wrong?"

"Just what we expected Jack,' Daniel told him. "The Anti war protestors are out in force around the areas that have been confirmed as IOA military establishments. A few dozen people have been arrested due to their actions. Six soldiers at Cheyenne and Area 51 have been killed by gunfire by the protestors. The numbers of protestors and sightseers are climbing at all positions."

"Shit, this is gonna get worse, isn't it?"

"Very probably, apparently a few of the Middle Eastern countries are getting… vocal about the fact we've got orbital weapons in place. More than a few are demanding access to the technologies involved in building them as well as demands for access to the Prometheus and the Daedalus."

"Well, they know we'll tell them where to go. I'd trust most of them as far as I can throw them. The ships involved in defending this planet are our own. They have no rights to any of them whatsoever. Looks like the President's gonna be busy for the next few week. I wouldn't want to be in his shoes."

"I wouldn't be too smug Jack, that's one of the reason's we're here as well. The President thought it would be best coming from us.' Daniel hesitated. A few countries out there want you charged with war crimes for your actions against the Colonials."

"They what?"

"It's true Sir," Carter said. "A few of the European countries, middle eastern powers and African nations have all demanded you be removed from your position prior to war crimes hearings at The Hague."

"They have to be taking the piss."

"Apparently not."

"What's the President said?"

"He basically said, at this moment we are at war and no officer will be prosecuted for any form of war crime until the end of this conflict," said Daniel. "He also told the delegation that you did what was necessary to take out a threat to the planet Earth and he would be damned before letting you take the fall. Seems he likes you Jack."

"Thank God for small mercies. Shit how the hell do I get into these things?"

"Not a clue Jack, you're gifted that way."

"Alright I don't have time for this right now, Carter how long until we get the Prometheus spaceworthy?" Jack changed the topic.

"That's the good news the damage to the main cannon and the missile batteries will be repaired by the Asgard remaining behind within the next two days, the rest of the systems about thirty six hours after that. Prometheus will be ready for action in about five days."

"Peachy, I've ordered the Daedalus and Odyssey to take orbit on the Western and Eastern hemispheres. With Bre'tac's ships taking position above the poles we're as defended as we'll get for now. What's the status of the outpost?"

"That's possibly the only good news, the damage to the main cannon and the missile batteries will be repaired by the Asgard remaining behind within the next two days, the rest of the systems will be complete about thirty six hours after that. Prometheus will be ready for action in about five days."

"Peachy, I've ordered the Daedalus and Odyssey to take orbit on the Western and Eastern hemispheres. With Bre'tac's ships taking position above the poles we're as defended as we'll get for now, what's the status of the outpost?"

"The MK-two reactors have been rechecked and are working. We've put quadruple redundancies on all systems so we don't lose the drones when we need them. But we have a problem with the drone count."

"Bad?"

"Bad, we're down to less than seven percent of the drones. We recovered a few hundred intact and brought them back down but we're running dangerously low."

"What about the Jumpers from Atlantis?"

"They've been sent through under the commander of Major Lorne; the problem is that while we can get them in orbit we don't have dedicated hangers for them nor the ability to rearm them without depleting the drone reserves. The Daedalus' hangers are being emptied of fighters to make room for them, the Odyssey will take them on for now."

"I've just been informed by the other countries that their respective warships will be out of commission for several months, we're also down on fighter coverage and spares for what we do have."

"I've seen the projections Sir, for now we're tapped out both in supplies and spares for the fleet. The Prometheus repairs will take up most of the supplies left for the construction of the Apollo."

"So we've got nothing to work with?"

"Not really, Sir."

O'Neill slumped back into his chair. The problems he had to deal with were getting progressively worse. The Asgard were the one real ace in his hand and he realised he had been relying on for too long. The Jaffa were a godsend for now but many of the remaining warriors disliked the Tau'ri for their actions against Gerak's fleet less than a year earlier.

Older warriors and those that had fought alongside the SGC forces were more tolerant and in some cases such a Bre'tac and Rak'nor believed whole heartedly in the alliance between the two warrior peoples. The four Ha'tak that now stood guard were a significant amount of strength of Rak'nor's forces. The surviving ships of Bre'tac's forces were also on call in case of another attack.

"There is something, Sir."

"What?"

"We have had an offer to build fighters by offworld allies, the Pangarans and the Hebridans have both offered shipyards and construction facilities until we can get our own transferred over to producing 302s."

"And they're doing this out of the goodness of their hearts?"

Daniel Spoke up. "No not really. Jonas managed to persuade the Pangaran government to reduce the cost of components to the basic cost of their construction and labour but they can't actually build the fighter."

"The Hebridans will build us squadrons worth in exchange for the technical specifications of the 302s and the Daedalus class designs."

"They do know we can't give them any information on the Asgard technology on those ships."

"Unfortunately Sir they may think they would be entitled to that information as they are building our ship and fighter components. Again they won't be able to actually build the hulls themselves. It will allow us to cut down the construction of the next flight of Daedalus class and the 302s by at least half if not more once we receive the extra parts from both worlds."

"We can't give them the Asgard tech. It's not ours to give them. Daniel, take a team of negotiators to Hebridan and see what you can do about it."

"I'll try jack but they can be stubborn."

"Then they could also learn a few things from you."

"Thanks - I think."

"Actually I'm glad you're both here. I've got an idea but I might need some info involving a plan." Slipping a sheaf of paper in front of Daniel he looked up. "How accurate are the translations intelligence has been gathering from the Colonials. Are we sure they are telling the truth at all?"

"Uhh, the translations are pretty clear their language was relatively easy to decipher using some of our own languages as a basis. The fact that it's unlike any language on Earth did make it somewhat difficult even with the information from the first contact mission, but once we discovered that much of it was bastardisation and simply evolution of dialects from different parts of the middle east and European states…."

"Daniel," Jack interrupted. "Simple answers will do."

"The translations are correct but I can't say definitely about any of the military intelligence that you've received."

"Carter?"

"We used the Za'tarc equipment as a lie detector, their brainwaves and biological patterns are virtually identical to our own. A few adjustments were made due to some genetic drift we discovered but I'm pretty sure we got some real intelligence out of them."

O'Neill looked over the intelligence report again and sat back before dropping the file on the table open on one page. "Carter, how many fighters can a Daedalus' hangers hold?"

"Sir?"

"I don't mean the normal flight group, how many fighters can we squeeze into the hangers for say a few days to a week?"

"Possibly double the normal operational fighters, around thirty to thirty six depending on what munitions are stored on the ship. But they aren't really designed for that many more fighters even for short durations."

"What condition will the Prometheus be within the next day?"

"Sir?" Carter asked confused

"Could she be made spaceworthy?"

"I… yes we could have the missile bays stocked and repairs as well as the damaged power systems operational. But that's it; no energy weapon and no hyperdrive."

"She won't need them, we just need her up there to fill a hole. Order any extra fuel and ordinance for the 302s we can spare, and send up a full load of Mk 7 missiles for the fighters…. Use the Odyssey she's the least damaged ship we have operational."

"Sir, what…"

"Carter just get everything sent up, I'll explain later."

Slamming a hand on his intercom O'Neill ordered a direct line to the White House as well as to the orbiting Odyssey and Daedalus. Both ships Commanders were off duty and asleep or relaxing in their quarters. A few minutes passed as the two Colonels were ordered to the twin ships' command centres.

"Caldwell here." The bald officer looked haggard as he appeared, seconds later he was echoed by Emerson as the younger officer dropped into his chair.

"Sorry to interrupt your rest gentlemen, but I need assistance from both of you. It's time to take this war back to the enemy…" he was interrupted by the buzz of the intercom and the confirmation of his link to the President's office. "And I think the President and everyone else may well agree."

"What is it General, it's Three A.M." Hayes' voice came from the speakers as the dishevelled visage of the President came into focus. "This better be important."

"I'm sorry Mr President, but I think we can make a strike on the Colonials even with our depleted forces. But we'll need to go ahead from the IOA before sending some of our only functional units away from the defence of the planet."

"And this couldn't wait?"

"No Sir, we need to hit them hard and fast and that means getting this off the ground as soon as possible."

"Alright General, I'll bite. Give me the plan…."

**IOA Conference**

**Penthouse Suite**

**London Hilton**

"Thank you for coming at such short notice gentlemen," Hayes told the ambassadors. "I apologise for the timing of this meeting but we have an opportunity here to make a strike at the enemy. It was decided that an immediate confirmation for the plan was needed as soon as possible, we need to make a statement to the Colonials that we are not close to finished as they may think."

"But we have little to fight with! Your own people have agreed that we are too far reduced in assets to fight any real battle away from our world," Kasparov spoke. "Many of our peoples will as you say be in uproar if we try to send anything from the defence of them and our planet."

Murray looked up at Hayes. "I say I have to agree with Dimitri here. We are down to the bare minimum in defences and are forced to rely on alien allies to defend ourselves against any good sized attack." Leaning back Murray smirked, "But you wouldn't have brought us all here unless you had some plan of attack, even if only a small one. Let's hear it, Henry."

"General O'Neill, if you please."

Jack O'Neill stood at the front of the room behind his Commander in Chief and addressed the world leaders assembled in front of him. He had been through in difficult situations during his life but gazing into the circle of now-historical leaders was humbling even to him.

"Sirs, after the recent attack and the casualty reports we received from your countries it has been found we are badly depleted in numbers of operational defences. Our biggest problem is the time it'll take to rebuild the damaged forces and secure enough resources to build new ships." Jack took a step forward and opened up the folder under his arm. "In the folders provided we have a single strategic plan hashed out over the last day by myself and the officers commanding the Odyssey and Daedalus. We plan to strike at the heart of the Colonial's ability to hit us."

"You can't be serious!" Murray exclaimed, "one ship and three entire squadrons of fighters on what could easily be a one way trip? This is almost exactly like the raid on Taranto and the raid on Pearl Harbour."

"Yes Sir. Intelligence gathered by Stargate Command and Area 51 from the Colonials computer systems and personnel have given us the best chance we have to stop any serious attack for at least a year. The loss of both the station and its attendant ships would hurt the Colonial military. The Odyssey and her fighters are the best bet we've got to strike back and fast."

"Can we hold if the Colonials return?" President Gaunt replied. "Allowing those units to leave will cripple us even more."

Huang spoke up his own visage just as weary as the American's had been, the time had been even earlier when he had been awoken. "Could this really work General? Even with our allies in orbit we could still be caught unawares by another attack and with so many of our defences down…"

"The Prometheus and Daedalus will be left in orbit both are operational as are the majority of the 302 squadrons we've been able to repair," O'Neill replied. "The Outpost in Antarctica has been reopened and should not fail again thanks to a few improvements to our systems. In addition the Asgard are replacing their ship with a pair of smaller vessels allowing us a better chance at intercepting anything that comes our way."

"I am sorry but I am not convinced that this will help us. We've destroyed more than one hundred of their vessels and beat off the rest. We need to defend this planet more than we need to strike back. Even if we could destroy the targets you have put together it would still leave us vulnerable. I vote no to this," Huang said. "Once the rest of our forces have been recovered then maybe then we will be able to do this."

"I have to agree with the Chairman," Kasperov said. "Russia has little to spare in way of operational resources. Once the Korolev and out 302s are repaired we will be more than willing to do this. We've lost as much as anyone in the last few weeks but we cannot afford to simply allow our country to be undefended against even a small incursion against us. The Russian Confederation votes 'No'."

Hayes frowned. "That would be far too late Premier, the longer we wait the more chance they have of making the strike worthless. Now we're at war they could easily increase the defences of the station against anything we send. The ships we're sending will be the best chance. The ship in use is American we could well do this without your consideration, but I'm not going to unilaterally order our forces to do so, the United States votes 'yes' to this attack."

"I have to agree," Murray said. "Yes I'm aware what your thinking Huang, but I am not simply being a yes man to Henry. The problem we have here is that, yes, we have a problem with a lack of defences. But if we can destroy a lot more of their forces then it'll be even longer before they can hit us again. If this works then we'll have time not only to repair what we have but to get entire squadrons of fighters and warships online as well. I vote 'yes' for General O'Neill's plan."

"I see that I am unfortunately stuck with the deciding vote and to be honest I thought that the leaders of the Russian and Chinese powers would have been the first to say 'yes' to this attack." Gaunt leant back. "The French government has never particularly wanted to get involved in any conflict again. The losses taken in the last hundred years destroyed many families throughout France and its former holdings. This has left us with an unfortunate reputation that we allow the enemy to roll over us or intimidate us. It is time that we proved that that reputation in uncalled for. The Republic of France agrees to the attack and offers two flights of fighters to the attack."

"Then it's settled," Murray said. "One of our squadrons will be seconded to American command if needed. I think we should be able to fill out what we need, General."

"You are all insane," Dimitri said. "We need to defend this world, not go off on half cocked plans like this. We should wait until the repairs are finished to our ships and then attack. Yes we want this to happen as much as any person on the world does but not at the possible cost of more of our people. If necessary send the Odyssey but leave the fighters behind."

"Mr Premier," Hayes said. "You voted not to get involved here and we aren't asking you to. With the Odyssey and three squadrons gone it will be mainly up to the remaining ships and the Russian and Chinese fighter wings to keep us safe. This mission is necessary not only tactically and strategically, but for morale purposes for the entire world, the mission goes ahead."

"Then for your sake Mr President," Huang used the term derisively, "You had better be right about this otherwise they may be nothing left for the Odyssey to return to."

**Crusade fleet 'Graveyard'**

**Inner lunar orbit**

**Sol System**

The USAF Daedalus and her sister ship Odyssey stood guard over the derelict ships of the Colonial fleet. Their presence was necessary as each of the active warships broke formation and slowly made their way into a predetermined area transmitted by their captors. As each ship in turn pulled away they dumped whatever nuclear ordinance they still had aboard followed shortly by the FTL coils within their engines. Battlestars and cruisers streamed out in line watched by the guns and missiles of the twin ships simply waiting close by. It was quite obvious to observers that the crews of both sides were in turn angry or nervous.

"Sir, the last of the larger ships are in position, reading basic life support and electronics still operational only. No signs of any weapons online at all."

"Captain, signal the destroyers and frigates to follow in order. Any sudden moves and destroy the ship responsible," Caldwell ordered. "Status of the air groups.'

"Last of the 302s have been checked ready for transfer, Odyssey's group is awaiting the last flight from the French contingent then they should be ready. Sir do you think this is going to work? The plan is pretty risky especially considering the casualties we've taken."

"Anything that can disrupt the enemy's logistics can only help us. If the Intel General O'Neill got from the Colonials is correct then this could hurt them a hell of a lot. If not they'll have enough firepower to get out before anything can happen."

"I hope so, Sir."

"Status of the jumpers."

"Area 51 has confirmed all jumpers have been crewed and are ready to fly. We're as ready as we're going to be."

"Contact the jumper squadrons and have them converge with us in high orbit."

"Aye, Sir." The comms officer frowned as the communications system squealed at him; the lower communications band had been smothered with a powerful radio transmission. Turning to Caldwell he got the Colonel's attention. "Sir we're getting a hell of a noise on the lower frequency bands message I think someone on the lead Colonial ship is requesting to talk to you."

"Damn, alright put him on Lt."

"…_onysis to Daedalus, request communications."_

"This is Daedalus, Colonel Caldwell commanding."

"Commander Manrey, Sir. Our ships are standing by for your orders. However we have a few problems we may need to address at some point."

"And that is Commander?"

"Sir we are over crowded with passengers and casualties. We request that we be allowed to salvage provisions and medical equipment from the crippled ships. Without extra supplies our wounded and dying won't make it. And no offence, but I highly doubt anyone on your world would be willing to assist us with supplies or medical help."

"You might be surprised Commander. Your smaller ships can deploy to the other vessels that you've abandoned But if we see any attempt to leave this system in any way that ship will be destroyed and all further requests for anything from the debris or to leave your vessels will be denied. Is that understood?" the tone from Caldwell made the Commander more than aware that it was not a question.

"Understood, the Raptors will have their FTL coils removed before launch."

"Inform us when you wish to launch each ship will be escorted by a ship at close range."

"Will do Colonel, Dionysis out."

"Sir the Last of the 302s have left the hangers, we're clear of secondary craft."

"Looks like we'll be empty a while longer. Captain divert both of the incoming squadrons to the flanks of the Colonial fleet. Keep the jumper crews at full readiness, if they try anything I want them all blown out of the sky."

"Aye Sir.

As the jumpers closed with the massive Colonial vessel the ship slowly manoeuvred around from its place in the vanguard to the very opposite of the formation. A dozen Raptors spewed out from the twin bays on either side of the Battlestar forming up one on one with the more advanced Tau'ri vessels.

"Scans show no weapons of FTL coils on any of the Colonial craft Sir. It looks like they were telling the truth."

"Have all jumpers begin scans of the area as well; we might as well get some sort of Intel on the debris. I'll be in my quarters, Captain you have the bridge."

"Aye Sir."

As Caldwell turned to leave the bridge, Captain Leonard took the command seat and settled back. Pulling up scanning the supply reports he was easily interrupted by the communications officer. The last of the fighter squadrons had finally landed on the Odyssey's flight decks, a double pulse of transporter energy terminated within the other ship. Leonard watched the flash dissipate with interest Caldwell returning to the area behind the command chair.

"Sir we're receiving signals from the Pentagon and the White House. General O'Neill is online.. and so is the President," Leonard said to the Colonel. "The Odyssey's also receiving it."

"Put them all on."

The bridge screens changed as signals from all three positions were intercepted by the communications array of the warship/ the faces of O'Neill, Hayes and Emerson came into focus all three looking slightly tired and haggard due to the time. O'Neill and Hayes had a pleased look on their faces whilst the other Colonel sat tiredly.

"Alright Emerson, you have a go. The IOA have agreed to the mission as laid out already. As soon as the fighter load is complete and locked down, jump to just outside of the target system and do a full scan of the area. Once the Intel is confirmed you will be clear to go."

"Aye Sir, the last of the fighters has just landed and are being stowed. We're ready to go."

Hayes spoke up. "This is the first strike back Colonel. I wish you luck on this it's going to be a hell of a mess either way. Bring your people back alive and intact."

"We will Mr President, Count on it," Emerson said. "We'll be back. Sir. Odyssey out."

The Odyssey's signal cut out leaving Caldwell facing his two direct superiors, "We're just waiting for the Puddle jumpers Sir. We'll keep position for now."

"Good," O'Neill said. "Keep an eye on those Colonial ships Colonel. We may have need of them before this is all over."

"Yes, Sir."

"Get some rest Colonel, I think we all need to." Hayes said, "Good luck Colonel, Hayes out."

"O'Neill Out.

As both signals cut Caldwell was finally able to relax, the Odyssey was finally getting underway for good or bad the return strike had been authorised. He wished however that he didn't feel both a sense of gratitude and one of foreboding about the mission. In his mind this was going to get worse, much worse before it got any better.

"Colonel Emerson sends his regards, Sir," Comms. Said. "Odyssey reports she's ready for hyperspace jump."

"Tell her good hunting and God's speed. We'll be here when she gets back."

"Yes, Sir."

Turning away from the Colonial fleet and her sister ship the Odyssey accelerated and jumped into the open hyperspace window. Those left behind watched their fellow fleet crewmembers some in trepidation and some with jealousy as the other ship took the battle to the enemy. Caldwell watched until the flash of the hyperspace window collapsed into normal space, the feeling of dread still running through his fatigued mind.

"Odyssey has jumped Sir, local airspace is clear."

"Continue scans on the debris field and watch the Colonials, I trust them as far as I could push this ship," Caldwell said. "I'm going to get some sleep, this has been a very, very long day."


	5. Chapter Four

_**Chapter Four**_

_**Colonial Naval Command**_

_**Picon Anchorage**_

"Alright this better be good, Cookson."

"Sir, we've just had a ship jump in at close range close enough to trip every automated weapon in orbit."

"What ship is it?"

"Charybdis Sir, Halo class Destroyer."

"What groups?"

"Battlestar Group Thirty Seven, Sir. She was attached to the Earth fleet."

"Then what the hell is she doing back here?"

"I don't know Sir; signal was for Chief of Staff Eyes only. They're requesting immediate clearance for Raptor departure to Picon Headquarters. Their codes are verified as those of Commander Anders."

"Clear them and hold all traffic in the area, bring the Charybdis in and hold her in the quarantine bay. What the hell is going on here?"

_**USAF Odyssey**_

_**Daedalus Class Battlecruiser**_

_**One light year outside Target Zone**_

"Scans completed, Sir. We've got confirmation on the target."

"Report."

"Enemy shipyards are right where the Intel claimed. The size is impressive, more than enough to build and refit a number of warships." Major Gant continued to scan her readouts speaking as she did so. "Defensive perimeter consists of stations and what look like semi-autonomous missile and gun platforms. Also reading dozens of ships matching the types observed near Earth. Possible other designs but they are pretty small; we'd need to get closer."

Emerson looked over the readouts on the sensor stations; highlighted sections were brought up and catalogued. Gesturing to the outer perimeter he closed into the visible gun platforms. "Anything on their defensive positions?"

"Nothing concrete, Sir. We've got possible vectors on patrols of both warships and smaller vessels."

"Then it's likely that they aren't expecting us at all.'

"Looks that way, Sir."

"Send the Intel down to the briefing room. I want the squadron commanders to plan the attack as soon as possible."

"Aye Sir."

"Plot a course out of here in case we need it, and rig for Silent Running. I don't want anyone to know we're out here until we want them to."

"All hands we are now running silent, repeat we are running silent. All pilots to the briefing room." Gant said into the ship's intercom, "Activating silent running procedures in three… two… one… now."

The alert sounded once as the ship began to shut down, running lights dimmed as the engines and main power shut off. The temperature of the hull began to drop dramatically as the outer sections were sealed and depressurised leaving the hull cold and dead. The remaining online systems began to draw power from the back up batteries reserved for secondary power. The twin mark one Naquada reactors spooled up enough to continue feeding the power through the batteries. Within minutes, the ship was dark, silent and invisible to anything in the area."

"Ship is silent, Sir. ECM is active at minimum levels. All systems are as in standby modes. They'll have to ram us before they can see us."

"Keep us here until we're ready to launch, Chief Goodwin please call the third shift to their stations first and second shifts will return to their quarters to rest. Contact the galley and quartermasters have then ready a good meal before the battle for both shifts, then recall those shifts to their posts once we're ready to proceed."

Goodwin nodded "Understood Sir, third shift to stations, repeat third shift report to stations."

_**Briefing Room**_

_**C Deck**_

_**USAF Odyssey**_

"Long range scans for the target are in; enemy defences are not except an assault of any kind as far as we can see. Defensive positions have been ascertained as capable of fending off massed fighter and warship attacks from both long and medium ranges. However, their close range weaponry will be the most dangerous to us." Colonel Phillips pointed out the numerous defensive positions. "Their anti-fighter weapons seem to be geared to overwhelming amounts of small calibre and flak to take out threats to the station."

The main screen within the briefing room closed in on the pinpoint scans of the Colonial anchorage. Circles appearing around each of the defence stations and automated positions situated around the dockyards, ship stores, construction bays and personnel residences. Towards the very ends of the massive construction the massive fuel tanks and munitions supply bunkers were sat well away from the central administration sections every anchorage and shipyard inevitably had.

"Heavy railgun stations are located in overlapping fields on all axis," he continued. "These are backed up by a number of conventional and nuclear armed missile batteries at the northern and southern sections of the main structure again overlapping fields of fire. Estimates including anything from the fifty and one hundred megaton missiles used against us back home, to several half gigaton area defence missile launchers. We should be close enough that they won't risk launching the larger missiles against the Odyssey, or the attack squadrons."

"However the major problem will come as we close in. As mentioned the entire complex is armed with an interlocking system of flak cannons and automatic guns capable of fighting off a close range attack from fighters and missile cruisers. However, as with the battle we fought against the Colonials we have found a critical weakness in their scanning systems. Commander Blake."

Blake stood up and took the Squadron Leader's place at the front of the briefing room. Unlike Colonel Phillips he was not dressed within a flight suit but was dressed in the duty uniform of the British Naval Intelligence Service. Striding up to the front he changed the display to a tactical diagram, the animation starting as he spoke.

"During the debriefing of a number of Colonial officers, we discovered that their main scanning systems are based on a form of light speed ranging technology much like our own radar systems. This means that their equipment is only useful at ranges of a few light seconds. With their less advanced technology this is usually more than enough to uncover an assailant and to dispatch them.''

However thanks to the records recovered from the Colonial ships, we've discovered that a small number of nukes launched and detonated at close range will blind their primary systems for a good few minutes. We have to have all fighters in the air and missiles away before they clear their monitors."

"Two of the squadrons have been split into two six man teams each. The first wave will target docking slips and command stations, the second wave will target ships under repair and refit, fuel tanks and ammunition depots. The Odyssey will launch a second salvo of missiles in a rippled salvo to clear up whatever remains. We estimate three minutes to complete the attack and a further eight minutes to land all fighters and retreat back to the Alpha site. While the attack progresses our British contingent will fly CAP until we are ready to withdraw. We shouldn't have much of a problem but we need to be prudent gentlemen this is the most heavily defended area we've seen to date."

"Sir, what's to stop our own radar from being jammed by the EMP blast?" the CAG asked

"Colonel Phillips?"

Blake gestured to the floor again allowing the ship's commander to retake the podium.

"All radar systems aboard the F302s will be at standby as soon as we launch the missiles. Once the missile detonate launch telemetry will come from the Odyssey. When all nukes have impacted, Red Squadron will bring their Radars online and keep an eye out until everyone else is onboard. They'll escort us out until we can clear a jump," Phillips said.

"As mentioned our biggest problem will be keeping the enemy away long enough to get all our fighters aboard. This is possibly the most dangerous assignment most of you have been assigned to."

"Once we are inbound on the target the fighters will launch in teams, once all teams are in position the attack will commence. All fighters have been armed with MK-8's for this so it should be one hell of a fireworks display. As such all pilots and navigators are to keep their eyes shields down and nose away from the detonations."

"That's it ladies and gentlemen, let's give em hell."

The fighter crews shuffled out of the briefing room chattering and laughing, some making wagers on the hits they were going to make. Both senior officers watched until the last few pilots had finally left the room. The silence was a sharp relief from the bustle of the fighter squadrons. The entire wing had been squashed into a room that should only have seated half their number, slumping down onto a chair the ship's commander looked at his fellow officer.

"Think we can get through all of this intact, Jack?"

"I don't know Colonel. We've got real time surveillance footage coming in and the element of surprise but even the best laid plans can go awry. A few more alert gunners or a radar system unblocked could kill a good number of our fighters before we could intercept the fire."

"There's nothing they've got that can take us out short of ramming us, this time we won't be sitting still and letting them come to us. It's just a damn shame we haven't got one of the big guns with us."

"The mark nines are formidable weapons, they would be use by us here quite easily but the second prototype isn't complete yet. And the bods at the IOA decided that if the Colonials attack again they want a few of those in reserve just in case. Can't say I blame anyone not after the damage we took. We were lucky Harry. A half day later and we might well have lost a lot of our people. A single direct hit close enough would have taken England out completely."

"And a single hit could have knocked California into the ocean. I've seen the projections, Jack. Hell at least we aren't targeting a city or whatever colony is their capital. God knows it's just as well it's us out here and not the Korolev."

"You think they would have disobeyed the orders of the IOA?"

"If Chekov's people were out here every nuke would be used to blast their major cities. Hell, I'm about this close to changing your attack vector to their capital planet and nuking it flat." He rubbed his eyes with the flats of his palms. "I've gotta report to Emerson and get some shut eye. See you when this is all over Jack."

"Good luck Colonel, and watch your back."

"I Intend to."

_**Picon Military Command**_

_**Admiral Corman's Officer**_

_**Picon City**_

"What the _frak _are you trying to pull Major? This isn't fun and games here."

"No Sir, it isn't."

"Then how about you give me the real reports from Commander Anders and we'll pretend this joke won't completely destroy your career."

"Sir, those reports are the official reports from the command station. Anything and everything that is within those reports were hand delivered to me by Commander Anders herself."

"I find that hard to believe Major, these reports are nothing like they should be."

"Permission to speak freely, Sir."

"Go ahead; I want to hear what you have to say about this."

"Sir, the ships that made it back to the command station were all blackened and burnt, some trailing tylium and yet more missing sections. Those reports say exactly what happened to the Liberation fleet and the results of the orders given during that battle."

"So what both these and you are saying Major is that the single greatest conglomeration of Colonial firepower was DESTROYED IN LESS THAN AN HOUR? THAT ONE FRAKKING PLANET HELD OUT AGAINST ENOUGH SHIPS TO DESTROY THE ENTIRE COLONIES IN SHORT ORDER."

"Yes Sir, the reports are correct. We lost and lost badly."

"Where is your Commanding officer?"

"He was ordered to report straight to the President's office as we landed, Sir."

"Get out and consider yourself relieved of duty until this is sorted out. You are to stay aboard the Charybdis and incommunicado until I order otherwise. This is not to be disclosed to anyone under any circumstances is that Clear."

"Sir, yes Sir."

"Get out."

Saluting Corman, the officer walked from the room heading straight for the security checkpoint knowing that the Admiral would have already informed them of his new status as a _persona non grata_ within the command structure for now. Corman continued looking through the reports from the battle, casualties in the tens hundreds of thousands, total annihilation of Viper wings, the loss of over one hundred forty warships and the damage to the rest of the fleet.

Picking up his phone he put a call through to the other Joint Chiefs of Staff calling them to an immediate meeting. The losses to the colonies were immense and against an enemy with the capability of these Earth people meant that this war could very rapidly go against them.

_**Launch Bay Alpha**_

_**USAF Odyssey**_

_**T -05:00**_

"All hands this is the bridge," the Comm squawked. Hyperspace jump in five minutes. All hands to battle stations, repeat all hands to battle station. All fighters to launch positions, all fighters to position,"

"This is a bad day for those Colonial bastards!" Flt Lt William Fitzgerald shouted over to his wingman.

"Your not wrong my friend," spoke the French major. "It is an eye for an eye."

"Not quite mate, but best we're gonna get. Keep on my wing and we'll get a few good shots in before we have to run."

"I am almost hoping we do not get to play with the Colonial fighters. I had not had that much 'fun' since the Gulf War."

"Stop complaining, you made ace again didn't you?"

"Well yes."

"Then let your navigator have a go make him an Ace or two."

"That child, I am not sure he could even find the guns let alone kill enemy fighters."

"By the time this war is over he might have to be. Good Luck Luc. See you when we get back."

"You too my friend, this should be interesting."

"All fighter squadrons are reporting launch ready, all decks at battle stations Sir. We're good to go." The Odyssey's Exec ran his fingers over the touch displays. "Hyperdrive is online and co-ordinates set."

"Bring us out of Silent Running."

"Silent running disengaged, bringing all systems to maximum power."

"Sir," the Sensor chief called. "I'm reading a pair of destroyers on an intercept course, they've seen us."

"Drop the surprise."

"Surprise is launching Sir, clear in twenty seconds." Gant replied

"As soon as it's clear take us in Major."

"Jumping."

As the Odyssey entered hyperspace a signal came from the Tau'ri warship activating the 'Surprise' left behind by the Earth built warship. The subspace transmitter had been rigged to overload every radio signal in the Colonial system with a blanket of static. The hyperspace window flashed as the small warship dove in, less than a second later jumping out again only a few thousand miles from Picon fleet Anchorage. Almost immediately followed by the magnum launch of all three squadrons one after the other into the defence airspace of the military headquarters.

"All fighters are away Sir, locking targets into computers."

"Launch missiles all VLS tubes."

"Missiles away."

The Odyssey's missile banks opened launching the modified surface to air missiles against the Colonial construct; blazing ahead a few of their number were eradicated by the close range defences of the shipyards. The rest continued in reaching only a few miles from the unprepared structures and detonated, the multi-gigaton missiles blazed for a very few seconds causing shockwaves and electromagnetic pulses to spread out across the orbit of Picon.

"Play the transmission Major Gant."

"Transmission starting, Sir."

A second signal was sent towards the probe in the outer system, the blanketing interference was cut and in its place a transmission powerful enough to play across the trinary star system began. The face of Henry Hayes looking solemn and angry could be seen by every person in range of any audio or visual pick up not effected by the pulse. That meant most military channels would pick up the transmission.

_**Picon Anchorage Command Center**_

_**High Orbit**_

_**Picon**_

"I'm telling you there's something up with that guy, I've never seen him throw up like that before."

"What about furlough on Taurus and that rotgut that he challenged the local defence squad with?"

"Yeah I think that was worse. I'm still not convinced it didn't kill his brain cells with that stuff."

One of the on duty communications tech shouted in surprise as static ripped through the communications channels, the DRADIS consoles also fizzled slightly as the same interference began to corrupt their inputs.

"Problem Frank?"

"Some kind of static across the board, its cut us off from Picon Command and from everyone else. Whatever it is; is messing with every communications and DRADIS frequency we're using, I'm trying to clear it up the conversation was interrupted by the sirens of a close range scan intercepting a new arrival.

"What have we got?"

"Scans coming back online, we're reading some kind of ship at less than a hundred thousand miles."

"This is a restricted area, where did he jump in from?"

"We didn't read a jump emission at all, he just appeared."

"Signal coming in, all bands."

The visual and audio channels popped loudly as the interference cut out and a new signal began to play, an older grey haired man looked out unseeing at the station's command crew. As they watched the signal strengthened and the recording began to play. As the man on the screen began to speak the soldier's stomachs dropped in horror.

"To the worlds of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol, several weeks ago your government and military launched an unprovoked attack on the Sovereign space of the Planet Earth. This attack and attempted invasion of our world has not and will not be taken lightly. The actions of the senior staff of this fleet attacked and destroyed our defending ships and consequently bombarded the surface of our planet with a number of high yield nuclear weapons.

Over one hundred million men, women and children have died due to this despicable act of aggression against us. We simply wished to live in peace in our own way; however it seems that the government of the Twelve Colonies has decided we are not fit to lead our own lives the way we wish to.

You attacked us because of our way of life, for what you believe is a divine intervention forcing us to believe in your religions and your beliefs. Make no mistake here; you attacked us with no provocation and without reason. This act of murder has forced us to act in the only way it seems that your government will understand.

As of the transmission of this recording the United Peoples of the Planet Earth do hereby declare war on the worlds and the peoples of the Twelve Colonies and their allies. We would have gladly welcomed fellow humans as brothers as we have done many times before, however that hand has now been slapped away with no attempt at reconciliation.

In retaliation to the murder of so many of the humans of this world, a single warship has launched an attack on the critical fleet yard in orbit of the planet of Picon. As this transmission continues the entire station and every ship, fighter and shuttle within a thousand kilometers of said station will be totally destroyed. Your military will be shown the exact same mercy as our defenders and our public were given.

May your gods have mercy on you all."

The recording shut off as the crew stared at the screen, within seconds the entire communications and DRADIS problems cleared up as the probe shut off its transmissions and went cold. With the scopes fully online the anchorage was able to see just what they had discovered.

"Signal's changing… we've got dozens of smaller returns appearing around the main one."

"Fighters?"

"Oh by the lords, missiles incoming! Radiological alarm!"

"Condition One…!"

The entire station was rocked by the massive detonations of more than a dozen heavy nuclear missiles only a few hundred miles from their own defence zone, Sirens and red lights began to blare throughout the station whilst alarms rang calling people to battlestations or medical and emergency personnel to areas full of injured crews.

A smaller number of alerts overrode the others as the Sirens for explosive decompression and tylium explosions rang through the station, internal damage was spread throughout the construct as it finished shaking from the detonations. All across the command deck reports were shouted out one over the other as the technicians tried to figure out what had just happened.

"DRADIS is blind, communications are offline."

"Hull breaches in multiple outer sections, fires in the Viper bays."

"Get the guns online."

"Power is down to most of the automated guns, we can't see anything as it is."

"Launch alert Vipers."

"Viper bays are answering. We've got a squadron of fighters in the tubes, power is down."

"Reroute auxiliary power from the weapons systems, launch those fighters."

"Got it. Vipers launching."

_**USAF Odyssey**_

_**Bridge.**_

"Enemy radar systems are jammed, radio communications are down."

"Squadron One break and attack."

"Roger that Odyssey, Alpha One Fox Two, Fox Two."

The twelve fighters of Alpha squadron called their launches practically as one, while twenty four missiles left their launch rails and headed into the massive anchorage bypassing the blinded defences totally. One or two were destroyed by the hastily launched Vipers that had managed to keep their DRADIS systems active.

The few missiles destroyed were too little too late.

_**Picon Anchorage Command Centre**_

_**Same time**_

"DRADIS is clearing, reading…. F-FRAK!"

The entire station was rocked by sixteen detonations as the missiles hit. The defences were woefully unprepared for the direct impacts of the gigatons of explosive force that ripped through the mass of slipways and production lines. The first wave destroyed the vast weaponry of the Picon defence line. Missile launchers, heavy guns, anti fighter weapons all were destroyed by the nuclear fire.

Sixteen mark eight missiles impacted with the fleet yards each of the missiles slamming into an independent target. On the command deck the twelve men on duty were annihilated as the entire central spire of the shipyards took four of the oversized two gigaton nuclear warheads into its central core and upper sections blowing the station's entire core into splinters. The surviving lower spire merely separated from the rest of the station sent hurtling towards the atmosphere of Picon. Twelve of the missiles had been locked onto critical junctures of the huge capital ship scale slips that made up the outer sections of the anchorage.

On the heels of the first wave the final six missiles were launched from Alpha squadron. Looping underneath the station the six missiles flew through the broken inner core of the shipyards and into the pre-programmed targets within. Twelve gigatons of nuclear fury ripped into the inner shipyard destroying dockyards, ships and habitation blocks as the shockwaves shattered the solidly build orbital habitats.

Breaking formation, Alpha Squadron headed for the hanger bays as Beta Squadron and the defending Charlie Squadron flew past. The second wave of fighters launched their own oversized missiles into the remaining sections of the shipyards. The first targets to be hit were the massive Tylium refuelling tanks at the far end of the starboard side of the shipyard. The next three missiles were swallowed up by the massive explosion of the millions of tons of refined fuel that detonated under the nuclear explosion, the ignition of the massive tanks happening faster than the radiation could neutralise the properties of the exotic fuel source. The fireball lasted a brief fraction of time swallowing up the entire remnants of the shipyards, the ships under repair and the surrounding defence ships.

Any missile remaining automatically tasked to surviving ships either disabled by the blasts or simply awaiting repair and refit, cruisers and destroyers simply shattered as the gigaton level explosions blew them apart. Girders, cranes and umbilicals joined the shrapnel cloud as the blast wave sent shards throughout the reaming sections of the station not yet destroyed by the impacts. The rest of the missiles had been specially tasked to cripple what remained of the Anchorage. The last of the heavy missiles simply removed much of the debris of the inner sections of the fleet yards.

_**Bridge**_

_**USAF Odyssey.**_

_**Stand Off Position **_

_**Picon Orbit**_

"Sir, both squadrons have fired, all missiles have impacted."

"Lock onto anything left in the area and destroy it. I don't want us to leave any of use to the bastards," Emerson replied

"Locking up enemy positions… reading launches of fighters and defensive ships from the other side of the planet. Attack range in four minutes."

"Detail Charlie squadron to our flank keep the Colonials off our planes."

"Charlie Leader Charlie Leader this is Odyssey, you are free to engage incoming fighter support. Odyssey will backstop, four minutes till engagement range, seven minutes to get all our planes down," comms ordered.

"Roger that Control," the British voice said over the radio. "We'll keep them off your backs."

"Roger that Charlie Leader, good luck."

"Thank you Odyssey, Charlie Lead out."

"Weapons status?" Emerson said.

"Full salvo is locked Sir," Gant replied. "All missiles are set for proximity detonation."

"Fire."

Twenty four mark eight naquada enhanced nuclear missiles launched in a ripple salvo from their tubes igniting their drives straight towards the few remaining slips, supply stations and warships that had to far been spared from the destruction of the largest and most heavily armed military outpost in the three star system that made up the colonies. The last of the surviving shipyards had been the massive enclosed slips that contained the gigantic capital class warships under construction or refit. Battlecruisers, Battlestars, Warstars, were all devastated as the warheads detonated.

As the main armament of the Daedalus class vessels the mark eight missiles were several degrees higher as explosive ordnance than the smaller cut down mark sevens, more than two hundred gigatons of nuclear fire converted every remaining intact ship and station of Picon Anchorage to atoms.

In the three minutes since the Odyssey had dropped from hyperspace the entire plan had gone off with nary a hitch. Finally after almost an eternity to those Colonials running from the annihilation of the anchorage the remaining defensive stations began to fire back at the Tau'ri warship diverting overwhelming fighter support against the 302s.

"All missiles have impacted Sir, mission complete."

"Once Beta Squadron has landed bring us round and re-designate enemy destroyer and fighters as priority targets, guns will be of no use against the capital ships. And ready the mines I want them deployed as soon as we're ready to move."

"Aye Sir, Alpha squadron is aboard Beta squadron is approaching landing bays, two minutes to get every down."

"Order Charlie squadron to break and attack we need time to get our people aboard."

"Charlie Squadron is engaging; missiles are away."

"Give them some cover fire, launch mark threes."

"Mark Threes are in the silos, forward launchers armed."

"Fire."

Four fast moving missiles broke from the forward weapons of the Odyssey. The unmodified nukes bypassed the 302s by a wide margin the IFF systems designating the fighters as friendlies to the tactical computers. All four came in at the Viper contingents already heading for the 302 squadron. Three of the four missiles went down as they were blown apart by the guns of the Colonial fighters

The forth missiles detonated as it reached it's proximity detonation point crippling seven fighters and damaging more than a dozen more. Many of the closest fighters veered away their pilots dead from the radiation surge that ripped through their ships. Others figuring that they too had taken lethal doses of radiation far in excess of anything their medical science could do to help them continued on.

In both cultures there is a saying that reads that there is nothing more dangerous than a man who had nothing to lose. The Colonials now had little to nothing to lose against the Tau'ri infiltrators. The massed Viper contingent accelerated to maximum possible speeds and raked the single fighter squadron with cannon fire and missiles.

"Charlie one to all ships, break-break," Fitzgerald shouted into the radio slamming his ship's engines into a full reverse and curving away from his original course. Four lines of tracer fire missing his fuselage by a few feet, the eleven other fighters of Charlie squadron separated from their wingmen and scattered.

"Charlie five this is lead, form on my wing."

"I am here," the French accented voice spoke up. "You have a plan?"

"Run interference for me then when I tell you to slam your stick down and climb. Let's see them dodge missiles at point blank."

"It is an insane idea!"

"You have anything better?"

"No, but it is still insane. I shall endeavour to pick off some of our foes while you sit behind me."

"Don't get prissy son, it doesn't suit you."

A dozen explosions dotted the surrounding field as the Vipers and 302s slammed into each other, missiles and cannon fire from both sides cut though space vainly attempting to shred the other side's pilots. The massively outnumbered pilots of the SGC fighters launched leapfrogged each other keeping their fellows clear of fire and returning fire as best they could.

"Charlie Three, missiles depleted switching to guns."

"Charlie Nine, we've got destroyers and frigates incoming."

"Charlie Seven, I'm hit! Port wing is gone returning to Odyssey."

"Charlie four I am bingo armament, returning to base."

"Charlie Leader to five and six, form up on me. Lock missiles on the closest enemy fighters," he ordered. "Charlie Leader, Fox three Fox three."

Half dozen missiles erupted from their launch rails slicing into the condensed ranks of Colonial Vipers. Five were direct hits, causing several fighters to explode whilst others spun off into their fellows blowing them apart. Gunfire crossed on both sides finally bringing down the first of the wildly dodging Earth fighters. Four more Vipers went down as the 302 exploded gunfire, raking their canopies or debris blowing out their engines.

"Damn it, Luc you still with me."

"I am here, scratched but alive."

"Status."

"One missile, guns are all but dry, fuel to a quarter. I think we need to get out, don't you?"

"Uhh, yes, I think so."

Changing the signal to the wideband the squadron leader ordered the entire remaining squadron to return to the ship. The Odyssey was already moving to cover the retreating fighters.

"Odyssey this is Charlie Leader, all ships are returning to base. Clear the line gentlemen, we're coming in hot."

"Roger that Charlie one, both bays are being cleared."

"I'm getting a lock up here, old friend."

"What?"

"Four different missiles are trying to lock on! I'm spoofing them but with that much radar energy they'll see me before we get within range of the Odyssey." The 302 wavered slightly as it dodged a stream of tracers. "And I believe that they do not want me to make it."

"Punch it then."

"I'm at maximum speed now their fighters are just simply faster than ours…. I'm Sorry Fitz. It has been an honour."

"What do you…? Oh, hell no. LUC!"

Virtually spinning in place Fitzgerald watched as his wingman turned and attacked the incoming fighters, the last precious missile slammed into the rear of a rapidly closing Raptor. An abortive attack by the scout sent missiles flying into space. Vipers and 302s alike scrambled away from the incoming fire.

"Damn it you insane frog, get back into formation!"

Nothing but a hiss of static indicating a dead radio channel came back from the other 302; the radio had been turned off. Growling the British officer banked his own fighter around pulling onto the other pilot's tail as the Vipers in front of him pulled away. One Viper disintegrated as the two Earth fighters crossed his path shattering his fuselage with gunfire. A second went down to a missile from Fitz's rapidly dwindling armament.

The Viper and Raptor squadrons pulled away from the seemingly insane piloting by the two Earthlings. Both 302s broke away and accelerated away gaining precious seconds whilst the Colonials tried to figure out what had just happened.

"Listen to me you crazy French bastard, I am not leaving you out here now follow me in or I'll shoot out your engines and have the Odyssey beam you back."

"You English are the crazy ones."

"You just figured that out?"

"No, but it is worth reiterating."

"On three break starboard and swing around head for Odyssey's Alpha bay. I'll head for Beta…" The transmission wavered as power was lost throughout Fitzgerald's fighter. "Bollocks!"

"Fitz?"

"They've scrammed my reactor and my fuel tanks leaking, caught something in the rear."

"Can you make it to Odyssey?"

"Not a chance, this is what I get saving your scrawny French backside."

"I didn't ask…"

"Neither did I… we…."

The communication cut off as Fitzgerald's fighter exploded, his compromised fuel system ignited by red hot munitions from the slowly receding Viper fighters. The explosion rocked Gerard's fighter, pelting him with debris from the shattered wreck. The Vipers by now were too far from him to be able to deal any damage to his fighter.

Saluting his friend from his cockpit the French pilot pulled away and towards the bulk of the Odyssey. The Daedalus class ship was already pulling away and laying down limited covering fire at the oncoming Colonial fleet.

"This is Charlie Five to Odyssey, sqn status requested."

"Odyssey to Charlie five, you're the last one we're reading. Everyone else is down; we're just waiting for you."

"I am incoming at full speed, multiple squadrons of enemy fighters and escort warships are on my tail."

"We see them Charlie. Five come on in, mission is complete."

_**Briefing Room**_

_**Picon Command Centre**_

_**Picon City**_

"Alright Bob we're here what was so godsdamned important to drag us all here so quickly."

"Sit down Steven, this isn't good news. A destroyer attached to the Earth Fleet made it back to Picon orbit about three hours ago and it brought back the initial reports of the attack and the damage received."

"How well did we do," one of them smirked

"We lost," Corman said simply

"What the frak do you mean we lost?" the same Admiral asked. "You trying to mess with us again, Bob?"

"This is the report from Anders the Commander in Charge of the main deployment station at the very end of the supply chain." He threw the folders on to the table. The Joint Chiefs grabbed it, started reading. Their eyes bulged as they couldn't believe what the reports told them. "We lost the battle and we lost it badly. We lost nearly three quarters of the attack force in the battle with more ships afterwards either damaged enough to collapse under their own mass or had to be scuttled."

"This can't be right, both Warstars, a dozen Mercuries, almost every Viper in the fleet. What the hell did survive?"

"Helena Cain pulled out what she could after the Zeus lost it's CIC to some kind of energy blast, holed her right through took out the command crew and Admiral Nagala in one go. Any ship still capable of FTL jumped out and headed to a position outside the enemy home system, the rest were left behind."

"If I'm reading this right more than thirty ships were left behind almost intact, of almost every type we have in service. They've got access to every technological secret and ship capability we have."

"Yes, they do," and his answer cause more than a few groans and curses to start flying about the room. "There are exceptions to the rule such as the loss of all the artillery and missile ships in the fleet will mean that they won't have accurate intelligence on those ships insofar as we can tell. But the fact is they have a number of our ships. They have mechanical and electronic intelligence on our people, our ships, fighters, weapons systems electronic countermeasures, everything that they could possibly need to know to cripple us even with their limited firepower."

"-Energy weapons, invisible shielding, unknown alloys as armor, multi-gigaton nuclear weapons…just who are these people and why the hell didn't we know about all this before we sent over two hundred ships on this fool's errand?"

"We sent scouts within scanning range of their planet. We never picked up more than two ships at any time. We didn't think that they would have the numbers and technology they had not with the resources of only one planet. Every piece of electronic intelligence we could get, pointed to a more primitive society than our own. We should have been easily able to take their planet especially once the oppressed peoples joined us," Corman told them. "Hell, we dropped a pair of recon probes into close orbit of their moon and we picked up nothing like this. Two months we spent looking over that damn planet and nothing came up that would have said they were capable of doing this."

"Now it seems that the Earth-born have not only advanced technology but now our ships to reverse engineer," the second admiral spoke up. "Gods know what they will be able to build out of our equipment,"

"What do we do?" the Army General spoke up for the first time

"Until the President gets the information anything we do could be considered a problem. We're down over one hundred and fifty ships even if every ship left makes it back. We've got more ships under construction that should be operational within a few months and a massive increase in fighter and raptor numbers has been authorized."

"At the cost of capital ships," an Admiral added.

"For now we'll be able to weather this. The reports show we've knocked out at least two of their ships with a third possibly out permanently. They can't hit us particularly hard without risking their own security. Any attack on this system will end up with that force being destroyed by our own defenses. Our larger guns and missile batteries will easily cripple anything that tries to threaten our planets."

"You sound quite confident of that Corman. The fleet had the most powerful ship board weapons we can build and according to these reports, not one of them even scratched the Earth ships. We don't have the ships to spare to ram their mainline vessels, and it seems that their ECM is already more than able to spoof our DRADIS systems," The general spoke up.

"Their major weakness is in their reliance on missile armament, their ranges and numbers are ineffective against our major defenses. As soon as they are seen they will be destroyed by the medium and close range guns in orbit of each world. Once they find their weapons are all but useless against us, they'll run for it."

"I wouldn't count on any of our defenses until we've seen accurate footage of their ships in action. Those missiles of theirs seem to be effective even at ranges that we thought were safe." General Howard leaned back, as the Commander of the Colonial ground forces he was more than aware of what might be needed against any encroaching troops. "Gods know what would happen if they used those things in our space, both orbital and ground targets would be totally destroyed."

"My biggest worry is if they do get into orbit is if they use those energy weapons on any of our ships. The reports from the surviving Battlestars indicate that the weapon is capable of destroying a landing bay in a single shot as well as decapitating the CIC crews with a single hit now they know what to look for," added Admiral Blake.

"I don't think they have many of those weapons at all," Corman grimaced. "Only one of their ships fired one even after our ships closed to point blank range. If I'm right that is the only ship that has that form of weapon. Once Intelligence has been through the records and analyzed the vids, we should be able to see just how capable these ships really are and then we can ascertain their true threat levels."

"Then we put all our forces on Condition two for as long as necessary and if they come for us we'll be ready."

"Agreed, the President will be aware of the attack by now. He won't make problems for us just for going on alert."

"Then what, we're down two hundred ships- that's going to screw with our defenses already. The Viper corps' losses will cripple our training for the next few years." Blake slammed his hand on the table. "The entire reserves will have to be recalled just to fill the ranks we've lost, not to mention the increase in production to replace the lost ships."

"I'm having the full listing made up of all fighters and warships still within a six month reserve status at the anchorages. We'll have to make do with refits until we get the commissioning of new ships underway. I believe that our illustrious President is gonna be extremely pissed about these losses; however this may be to our advantage. If we can get him removed from office maybe someone more sympathetic to our cause can be brought in."

"Jamison?"

"Jamison"

The three men were plunged into darkness as the power within the briefing room died completely and when the secondary emergency lights didn't activate the three men became agitated. Heading towards the massive windows they looked around to see the entire military base dead. All power was out be it the main generators, back ups, or simply the motorized transports and aircraft within the base itself.

The soldiers that had only seconds ago been marching back and forth within the command station were staring up into the sky. The three senior officers followed their gaze and watched as a dozen new stars flared briefly in orbit. The lights flared out within seconds replaced with a much more massive burst as something in orbit exploded.

"Nukes," Blake whispered. "Someone's throwing nukes around up there."

"Frak, the Cylons!?" Howard shouted but unsure of the answer. "They've hit the fleet yards."

Corman grimaced as he looked up at the fading flames that rolled in space, shaking his head he spoke up. "No I don't think it was the Cylons- and if I'm right about who it is, we are royally frakked."

_**President's Offices**_

_**Caprica City**_

"Yes I understand…yes the strike has gone on long enough but there's little I can do about it for now. They haven't been violent; they've simply decided not to teach. The education secretary will inform you of what is happening right now. Yes she is in her office and no, I will not force her to speak to you. I'm not her secretary and you will go through the right channels," Adar growled into the telephone. "Yes I am aware of how much you have put into my campaign over the last few years old friend but my hands are tied… yes but you will have to excuse me I have an appointment to make. Alright, goodbye."

Adar slammed the telephone back into its cradle swearing under his breath. The day had seemed so good once he had woken up the fact he was not simply awaiting the messenger from the fleet to inform him of their triumph was just icing on the cake. However problems with that damn strike had been increasing with each day, he would have to have words with Roslin.

The intercom buzzed. "Mr. President, the party from the destroyer Charybdis has arrived."

"Sent them in, Miss Alexander."

The doors opened in front of him admitting the Commanding officer of the Destroyer Charybdis into the office. Flanked by four Special Forces guards the nervous officer approached the desk and saluted the president holding that position until the president returned the salute. Smiling, the politician gestured for the other man to sit and waved the guards out of the office.

"Good Afternoon, Mr. President."

"Colonel Hawthorne, how nice to see you. I was informed of the arrival of your ship as soon as you came into the system. I decided to pull rank as it were to get first hand the information that would inevitably have come through the usual channels distorted somewhat, if you see what I mean."

"Sir?"

"Never mind Colonel, I believe congratulations to each of the ships in the fleet are necessary."

"Some of them Sir, yes."

"Now, now Colonel, every ship in a victorious fleet should be congratulated whether they survived or not. However I can't see us as having had too many losses against such a small and ill prepared enemy as these Earth born. Still we'll need to do something for the brave boys killed in action."

"Then it will have to be a very large ceremony, Sir."

"Ohh dear, that bad?"

"Worse Sir…. Mr. President, I regret to inform you that the mission to liberate the Planet Earth failed. The enemy defenses destroyed our ships before most could even get close enough to begin orbital suppression of enemy units."

"We lost?"

"Yes, Sir."

"That isn't possible Colonel, the Admiralty as well as a number of my own cabinet assured both me and the rest of our people that this would be an easy mission. The numbers of ships sent were believed to be too many as it was."

"I'm sorry Sir, but the attack was a failure. I have here the reports of the attack and our subsequent losses against the Tau'ri warships and fighters. In addition we have the casualty reports and reports from the senior officers of the fleet and the command station."

"Let me see them please Colonel, then please step outside. I'll call you back in once I have digested these reports."

Handing the reports to the President the Colonel saluted once more and left the room. Opening the first report Adar began to read. As he continued on through the myriad of papers his bemusement at the absurdity of such losses to turned to horror. Horror then turned into fear as he saw the calculated losses of the entire Crusade fleet. Closing the folder he sat in his chair staring at the desk in front of him

Picking up the telephone he ordered his secretary to send a summons to the Joint Chiefs of Staff to make their way to the President's offices as soon as possible. Sitting back he recalled Colonel Hawthorne to his presence. The junior officer walked in only a few seconds later.

"At ease, Hawthorne."

"Thank you, Sir."

"Alright Colonel, I've looked these reports over. Are you willing to confirm that these are correct to the best of your knowledge?"

"Any information gathered into the files are from the reports of the senior officers at the scene Sir. The reports are as conclusive as was possible to get by the time the Charybdis was ordered to return home."

"Sit down Colonel. I want to know exactly what happened including anything that may have been glossed over in the records. I also want to know what the actions of the three remaining senior officers did to recover from the attack. I want to know everything that happened and you Colonel are going to tell me."

_**BBC News 24**_

_**London**_

_**England**_

"Good Evening, our top story today is the censure and request by a number of countries worldwide for the arrest and imprisonment of Major General Jack O'Neill. The head of Project Blue book is being accused of a number of war crimes against the Colonial fleet, conspiracy to defraud the general public, murder, genocide and numerous counts of minor crimes.

General O'Neill headed the defence of this planet during the short-lived battle against the Colonial Liberation Fleet almost a month ago.During this time General O'Neill was responsible for using a number of unknown weapons of mass destruction against the men and women of that fleet. According to a number of conventions regarding the use of these weapons the fleet under the United States Air Force and directly the command of O'Neill constituted a willingness to cause mass murder against the human race.

With more, we go to Harold Gainsborough at the American Embassy in London."

"Thank you Carol, as you see behind me a number of protestors has begun to congregate around the gates of the American Embassy here in Grosvenor Square in London. Several hundred supporters of the war effort have begun to converge here in respect for Jack O'Neill. Many believe that the General did what was necessary to keep Earth from capitulation against an unknown force possibly hostile to our way of life.

Other members of anti-war and anti-nuclear demonstrators have also been making noises around the American, Chinese, French and Russian consulates during the last week. In a number of incidents the police have had to forcibly separate members of both sides during near riots at the news that General O'Neill may be arrested for his actions in the battle."

"It is currently unknown just how many countries have made the request that General O'Neill explain his actions against the Colonials, including the use of some form of heavy nuclear explosive capable of being seen from Earth as well as the use of several hundred strategic nuclear weapons killing at least one hundred thousand people aboard those ships destroyed in the attack. A spokesman for Project Blue Book has denied that the International Oversight Agency has refused to allow charges to be brought against General O'Neill. Pentagon officials have not released an official statement nor has General O'Neill answered the charges at The Hague.

A statement however has been released by the officer of the President of the United States wherein the President has put his full political weight behind his command officer resulting in a small number of countries agreeing with the sentiment and putting their own support behind O'Neill …"

_**Homeworld Security **_

_**Pentagon**_

_**Washington DC**_

"This just gets better and better, don't it?"

"Jack, its all noise. People want to get under the skin of the current administration and you are the perfect target in their eyes."

"I saved the planet doesn't that actually mean anything anymore."

"You never cared before."

"They weren't trying to crucify me before."

"It's all hot air Jack. There's nothing anyone can really do for now."

"It's the 'for now' I'm worried about, Daniel. I blow up a few ships and they decide I need to be busted for it."

"It was more than a few ships Jack."

"Someone was trying to enslave this planet, AGAIN. What did they want me to do, let them land and take over?"

"I doubt it, Jack."

"Then why am I getting it in the neck?"

"People hate the United States on principal. You're just the most visible member of the armed forces. You knew you would get this kind of thing when you took the job. It's not like being on SG1 anymore."

"No at least then I could shoot the people trying to hang me."

"Look do you want me to join the delegation they're sending to sort this out?"

"They're sending a delegation?"

"Yeah, there was a memo… Never mind."

"What? I read my memos."

Daniel looked at the uncomfortably shifting Jack O'Neill. He knew the other man too well to let that slip.

"Well, most of the time anyway."

"Jack."

"Fine! My secretary reads them and puts them in a report."

"Which you leave in the in basket for a week or more."

"No, see its right here, first page….Delegation to The Hague, Colonel Davis commanding the team… alright fine; I hadn't read it."

"So you want me to go?"

"Well as much as I want you to, we need you here. The interrogation team needs your help with translating some of the more archaic parts of the Colonial language. Davis will have to deal with it with whomever he manages to get. Never thought I'd be wishing Weir was on world she might be able to pull something off."

"We can always get her back. The Atlantis ZPM should be able to establish the wormhole."

"And that's one less chance for them to come home. I'm not going to use it for my own gain. So any other ideas?"

"Nope."

"Didn't think so, I'm so screwed. Did you get anything out of those idiots that fired at the Prometheus?"

"Yeah they're some kind of political anarchists, against what they see as the military conspiracy keeping the American people from knowing the truth about what is really going on. Strangely enough aliens and spaceships were as far away from what they believed was really going on."

"Let me guess, secret weapons and genetic experiments?"

"Pretty much."

"We need a better class of terrorist. This is embarrassing."

"So what you going to do?"

"Well, have them arrested and thrown in a maximum security prison for attacking a military target during wartime, then probably shot."

"No you won't, and that's not what I'm talking about."

"What can I do Daniel? I can give up and watch thirty years of service go down the drain, or I can keep on playing the game and keep us from getting nuked by another attack by the Colonials. The IOA haven't removed me from command of the combined fleet yet, so I'll do what I always do and beat the enemy."

"I hope your right, Jack."

"General?" A voice interrupted the conversation, O'Neill's secretary stood in the doorway. "The Odyssey just contacted the SGC the President wants you at the white house as soon as possible, Doctor Jackson as well."

"Thank you Captain. Inform the White House I'll be there momentarily." Jack dismissed his adjutant with a nod and turned back to Daniel. "Well considering my day, this could be either very good news of possibly extremely bad news. Come on Daniel we've got an appointment to keep. I love this part." Pulling a radio from the charger set next to the desk Jack turned it on, "Prometheus this is Hotel Sierra One, direct beam to the White house security section."

"Understood Hotel Sierra One, transport underway."

The two men disappeared in a flash of light and reappeared several miles away within a heavily secured 'Box' to the rear of the White House. The signal amplifiers were tuned specifically to allow the Prometheus to beam through the heavy anti beam shielding now prevalent throughout the major military and governmental buildings of the IOA allied countries.

As they coalesced they were met by a number of heavy weapons emplacements both projectile and salvaged energy weapons courtesy of their Jaffa allies. A contingent of special ops trained soldiers backed them up behind thick and heavy metal shielding all around the perimeter.

"Put any weapons you may be carrying into the receptacle to the right."

Jack pulled out his sidearm as well as his back up weapon and a pair of small knives he had on his person. Once that was done he stepped aside and was treated to a small surprise when Daniel put a sidearm he himself had been carrying since the day of the worldwide disclosure.

"Daniel?"

"I spent too much time around you," was all the man said.

The voice again piped up. "State you name, password, clearance code and stand by for scan."

"O'Neill Jonathan, password Alka-seltzer; clearance code Hotel Sierra one nine seven seven two four Juliet."

"Jackson, Daniel, Password Frasier; clearance code Sierra Golf one zero zero seven six niner four bravo."

"Stand by for scan."

Jack looked at his friend "Frasier?"

"Needed something I would remember, seemed like a good idea."

"I'm not complaining."

The scanners swept over the two men searching for cloaked weapons, infestation of any kind. The possibility of the two men being replaced was not discounted and for several minutes every piece of technology the SGC had managed to beg, borrow, or create of their own volition.

Everything from their clothes, to their bodies, to their very DNA were scanned by the massive array surrounding them. Finally the equipment shut down and the heavy trinium/titanium door slung open. Four guards with safetied assault rifles stood in the doorway.

"General O'Neill, Doctor Jackson, the President is expecting you."

"Lead the way."

The four guards surrounded the two men at a safe distance to the fore and the back of the two men, marching them through the heavily reinforced tunnels beneath the White House. They were stopped at yet another security point. A modified version of the Tok'ra's Zatarc detector was used on the men and the guards as they passed through finally making it into the bright corridors of the actual building.

Once again they were stopped and checked by the secret service agents, the nine men that were the last defence against anyone that may attempt to harm the President. Finally after this last diversion they were escorted to the doors of the Presidential offices, the guards leaving them and returning to their posts leaving the security to the highly trained secret service.

"We're here to see the President, I believe we're expected," Jack began.

"Yes General. He is awaiting you in the Presidential briefing room."

"Thank you, ummm that way?"

"Follow me, Sir."

The Secret Service guards escorted Jack and Daniel through the main doors of the 'core' of the White House. The walls and doors had been modified and replaced with trinium/titanium armour and small forcefield generators making the Oval office and adjacent areas one of the safest places on the planets surface. The refits had been built into the White House within hours of the first attack by the Colonials, a number of other residences and major military bases within the allied countries had likewise recently undergone the same upgrades.

Passing through the secretary offices they were finally shown into the offices of the President. Hayes however wasn't alone as he had called in a number of senior officers and governmental officials to hear the report coming in from the Odyssey. Gesturing to the gap left for them at the briefing table Hayes turned back to the long range communications system set up.

"Odyssey this is Hayes, go ahead."

"Sirs, the attack on the enemy position was successful, in excess of forty enemy capital ships and escorts were destroyed with a possibility of more destroyed or crippled within detonation range of the station. The entirety of the anchorage has been destroyed including fuel tanks, munitions stores, and hanger bays. Tactical analysis is a one hundred percent loss of the station and everything within several kilometres."

"What were the casualties, Colonel?" O'Neill asked

"We lost eight fighters across the three squadrons. We managed to pick up five members of the crews. The rest were killed as their aircraft went up. I regret to inform you that Flt Lt. Fitzgerald and Lt. Colonel Henderson were among the casualties."

"That's two more of our senior officers down," one General mumbled.

"The Odyssey is returning to Earth as we speak Mr President. We should be there within the next hour."

"Well done Colonel. We needed a victory and you have brought one home to the people of this planet. Let's hope that this will allow us the breathing room we need to build up our own forces without risk of attack. Report directly to Homeworld Security upon your arrival, Colonel. I want a full debriefing from you, your first officer and the senior surviving pilot of the fighter contingent," Hayes ordered. "Then report to Colonel Pendergast for redeployment."

"Aye, Mr. President."

"White House out."

The screen blanked out as the President turned back to his officers; grim smiles were the usual look on the faces of the people in the room. Hayes more than most understood the facts of this war. One officer looked particularly unhappy at the actions that they had been forced into that day.

"General Paulson, a problem?"

"In my opinion Sir, this war has just escalated. I agreed with this attack in principal; however this was just a single attack on a single naval base. From the Intel records we received from the downloads of the Colonial databases this will only set them back a small amount of time."

"Time we need badly," Admiral Anderson spoke up. "With luck we'll have a decent sized force before they can recover from the loss of so many ships."

"With luck yes, we don't know just how many ships in reserve they have or how may slips their shipyards can bring to bear on us. Our Intel wasn't totally conclusive on this part. Most of the officers we've managed to interrogate don't have that kind of knowledge or clearance. I do however think that the ships we've destroyed both here and at Picon should hold them off as well, I just don't think that we have the time we wish we did, not with our forces as depleted as we are."

"He may be right Sir," said O'Neill. "The Jaffa and Asgard won't be able to keep defending us continuously; both need their ships for their own reasons. Granted the Asgard have sent us two ships to assist with upgrading our defenses for as long as we need them but even then if something happens they may well recall them."

The President sank back into his seat and surveyed the faces of his senior officers. Sighing he looked to O'Neill and Paulson. "Alright I need answers and quickly, it's going to take time to gain the resources and the equipment to begin construction of more Daedalus and Prometheus class ships. What can we do to start building our defenses up?"

"We believe Sir that we have a decent amount of resources to hand we can use to build a smaller less powerful ship than the classes currently in service." O'Neill handed a folder to the President, "The materials and electronics can be recycled and used to at least form the majority of the parts for the new design, we'll still need a certain amount of off world supplies however."

"You are joking about this right? It's a graveyard gentleman not a resource pool."

"Sir with all respect, its something we can't pass up," O'Neill said. "There are billions of tons of refined metals and a hell of a lot of electronics, cables, and god knows what else that would be useful for any new designs we come up with. The Apollo class will be a first generation system defense boat, the kind of thing that can be built fast and in numbers by any decent sized yard on the planet."

Anderson spoke up. "He has a point Sir, not to mention that we are at war now none of our treaties encompass the Colonials. The Colonial fleet is now salvage for use as we see fit. We can remove the bodies from the ships and return them to their people in some way if we wish but that fleet is a resource we can't afford to lose."

"I am not comfortable with using those ships in that way. However I do admit it is a useful resource to have as a whole. How long before you can begin salvage and reclamation?"

"Within the week Sir, the construction can start a few weeks after we get the first wreck out of orbit. The Apollo class should be ready for production by then."

O'Neill grimaced "And as much as I hate to admit it Sir we're going to need to source out the design to any country that can build them be they allied or otherwise. If we try to keep this within the IOA we won't have a chance of building up the forces we need. In addition Sir we may have to source out the rail gun designs and begin the new manufacture of nuclear weapons to arm these ships."

"That's a tall order General. We're still limited to the nuclear arsenal we can create due to the limitation treaties still in action." Hayes said, "We can release the vast majority of the ground based nuclear arsenal for conversion as a quick fix but it'll take time before we get permission to build up our stocks."

"Then we need to make it quick Sir otherwise we won't have much to fight back with when we do build our ships. If that happens then we may as well let the Colonials walk in because there will be absolutely nothing to stop them."


	6. Chapter Five

**Chapter 5**

_**Colonial Command Station**_

_**Unknown System**_

The Battlestar Pegasus rocked slightly as she pulled away from the dockyard where she had been stripped of her crippled landing bays and damaged engines. The replacement engines now apart of her frame had belonged to smaller vessels. The ad hoc assembly was badly affecting the overall handling of the warship and causing a few problems to the helmsmen aboard the ship.

Bursts from the station keeping thrusters pulled the Pegasus away from station joining alongside the line of ships also pulling away from the station. Their hastily repaired systems would hopefully stay intact long enough to return to the Colonies. A line of cruisers and Battlestars blinked their lights at the flagship, acknowledging their leaving the line of cripples. A triple blink came as a response from the Pegasus.

Cutting across the perimeter, the butchered warship met up with the remaining vessels of her Battlestar group. Arrayed in formation the single remaining Battlestar and eight escort ships awaited the return of their commanding officer. The hobbled Pegasus pulled into position at the center of the formation settling into place. The last of the docked shuttles broke their hard seals and returned to the station.

"Status Report," Cain demanded.

"Ship is secured Sir. All hull breaches are sealed and armor plating has been replaced. All damaged sections have been removed as have the remaining parts of the landing pods. Forward weapons have been fully repaired, nukes are loaded and all launchers read green."

"Main engines and maneuvering system are fully repaired. FTL is nominal. We're good to go."

"Navigation is online. DRADIS systems are active and scanning."

"Flight ops are offline, all remaining pilots and ground crews have been offloaded. Marine complement and non-essential personnel have been evacuated from all ships. All other flight wings have been loaded aboard the Eagle. Once we're away the Eagle will stay behind."

"All ships in the group report ready, Sir."

"Very well, bring up the jump co-ordinates and spool up coils one and two. Status of the latest batch of personnel ships?"

The DRADIS screen changed as the massive scanning systems of the Battlestar locked onto the assembled ships representing the vessels attached to the Command Station. The smaller ships were surrounded on all sides by the warship squadrons of Commander Adama. The signals began to disappear as the ships full of station personnel jumped out with each section escorted by two or more escort ships. The Battlestars waited until the fleet had all but gone before spooling up the majority of them jumping out close on the heels of the other ships.

"That's it Sir. The Valkyrie and the Helix Battle groups are all that's left."

"The other ships are breaking dock, the shuttles are also leaving the main station, looks like the last evacuation is going ahead. The station is shutting down, power levels are dropping."

The Pegasus battlegroup stood sentinel over the mass of ships taking on the remaining crew of the station. The last shuttles carried the command crew including Anders herself and the operations officers not yet evacuated from the station.

"Message from the Helix Admiral," Comms said. "All ships are to pull away to safe range."

"Looks like she's going up. Helm, take us to pre arranged co-ordinates."

"Aye Sir."

The badly mauled Battlestar pulled away from the parking orbit away from the station her cohort accompanying her in close formation. The rush of shuttles had stopped as the last landed aboard the Helix. The remaining cripples and passenger ships jumped away from the oncoming destruction of the Command station, the Valkyrie going with them. A single wideband burst transmission was sent from the Combat Center of the command Battlestar. The simple radio transmission activated the detonators attached to the nuclear stockpiles and massive munitions and fuel supplies still left behind by the decimated Colonial forces. Almost simultaneously twenty specially enhanced nuclear weapons detonated blowing the fortified airtight sections apart. Forced decompression fed the destruction as the structural elements simply broken and tore like paper. The fireballs expanded as the fuel tanks detonated, the thin walls between the massive containers breached by the spinning shrapnel emitted from the initial eruptions. The majority of the atmospheric systems, extra oxygen reservoirs and emergency apparatus had already been long decompressed however enough still existed inside those few areas still active to feed the explosions.

Finally the heavily oxygenated air of the munitions area was broken apart by the single nuclear weapons attached to its external skin, the immensely powerful explosion was enhanced by the heavy concentration of pure oxygen. The detonation completely annihilated the munitions stores cooking, off much of the firepower away from the fleet with those closer to the nuke simply ceasing to exist as the fire took them apart at the very atomic level.

The loss of the final small amount of oxygen left snuffed out the flames of the explosions. The smoke crystallized and drifted amongst the vaporized metals and plastics that had once been the proud command station for a now woefully unsuccessful attempt to save their brethren from the deprecations of the vile Tau'ri that held their world hostage. Very little remained as the planetary bombardment warheads finally flickered out only seconds after they had detonated. A cloud of haze and spinning debris was all that remained of the station.

"That's it Admiral she's gone, there's nothing left."

"Status of all ships."

"All Capital ships read ready to move, escort ships are also ready for jump."

"FTL engines online, ten seconds to jump."

"Combat to all stations, ready for immediate combat jump."

"FTL sequence initializing in four… three… two… one…"

"Jump."

The ships of the Helix group began their coordinated jump out of the system, the last guard ships following close behind. As the last of the Helix group disappeared into the ether the ships of Battlestar Group 62 began their own jumps. Nine ships of the most famed group within the fleet turned away and into history.

Staring into the camera President Richard Adar stood composed and confident before the small audience of politicians and reporters that were assembled within the confines of the Apollo Palace. More than one hundred cameras were dotted throughout the room. Their transmissions would reach every planet and station within Colonial Space. The quiet chatter in the room ceased as Adar approached the podium, all eyes following his every move and expression.

"My fellow Colonials… I suppose more than anything that term means a lot more to us than just the fact we're twelve worlds tied together through history. It's our very identity, our very philosophy and way of life. I believe it is something that we will have to hold onto for a good long time if we are to keep ourselves free."

Looking into the cameras, his face was a mask of sadness mixed with anger and a firm resolve the people hadn't seen in a long time. Gone was the concerned look of a man worried about his status. In its place was a leader prepared to make hard decisions, which was a good thing since he was terrified.

"Three days ago I received a report from the commander of the fleet that was deployed to rescue the recently rediscovered residents of the planet called Earth, known to us as the fabled Thirteenth Colony, to regain their place with us their brothers. But I am mortified to tell you my people, that instead of coming together to be once more a reunited people, that in an act of unbridled aggression the military of that world destroyed more than a hundred of our vessels without provocation.

It was decided by my military advisors and I that the Earth needed to be liberated form their oppressive government whose control over Earth borders on totalitarianism. Therefore we sent our fleet in numbers that would ensure their protection and the removal of those we know as the Tau'ri. They were separated from us, completely unaware of and at the mercy of Cylons who could have destroyed them had they discovered them. It has always been our intention to offer them our protection and my forces assured me that there are hundreds of millions of people that would have welcomed us. Our forces entered their system but we believed that the people would rise up and overcome their oppressors without much bloodshed. Our military was prepared for any offensive tactics used by their space military. However…

…However, they used extraordinarily high-yield nuclear weapons without warning or provocation to slaughter thousands of our people before they could start to defend themselves. The callous murder of our brave peoples were compounded by the cowardly attack on the flagship by a ship that the people of Earth had christened Prometheus, a name we that we now know to be a deliberate attack of our beliefs. They used the name of a grand traitor for one of their most powerful ships."

His eyes shifted to another camera as he wiped his eyes with a small handkerchief. Something in his stance changed. He stood straighter and his anger began to build.

"I was going to stand here and apologise for sending our forces against the 'Tau'ri', to say that I wish more than anything that I could bring our beloved dead back to their loved ones… however it occurred to me that I should not be sorry.

I should be outraged that the military junta that holds our brothers hostage to their whims have managed to beat us back in this way! I understand that we have lost so many of our brothers and sisters to the vile weapons of these heretics, but I also remember so many of their own people are being held against their wills under the sway of their overlords. And now they have many our people as prisoners and gods only know what type of treatment they are receiving.

As President I have to look at the complete picture. The poor souls that fought against our people may be innocent or they may be in the pockets of their paymasters, forced to use the engines of destruction against their brothers. If this is indeed the case, I don't know but until we find out the truth, we must continue to push against the evil that pervades their society unless we too wish to be infected by the horrors that they perpetrate against their own kind.

Already we know much of the defences of this 'Tau'ri' sect have been crippled by our forces. Yes we have lost a number of our own but those souls, who are remembered in our hearts forever, are responsible for destroying over half of the enemy's combat capability. The Tau'ri government should have been content with their blood but that has not been the case. Two days ago, the savagery of the Thirteenth colony was exposed to us all when the shipyards of Picon were destroyed.

We first believed that the attack was of Cylon origin until the truth was discovered. Thousands of our soldiers died never knowing that they were at war! Our brave defenders tried to defend what was ours and they died in nuclear fire. Thousands died as the shipyards tumbled from orbit to hit cities and towns of our beloved world. Not only were tens of thousands killed and injured but we have been weakened, easier prey for our enemies who desire nothing more than to destroy our way of life and kill us all.

I did not force this war on our people. We have lost too much too quickly but I will ask that you and yours support this conflict. It is not just the lives of those held under dominion of these cruel masters, but the very life that pumps through the veins of every human both within our colonies and on the Earth. This new enemy is resolute and will do anything to subjugate and perhaps even destroy us.

We all saw the transmissions of those who call themselves the Tau'ri rulers of the Thirteenth Colony in which the Sect blamed us for the bombings. I have records," he said viciously, "showing that the Tau'ri used their attack against us to use nuclear weapons on their own people. I tell you now, as the gods are my witness, that those reports blaming us are lies. There are large pockets of resistance on Earth that have been slaughtered just as this government has killed our own people. They have no regard for life as we discovered during our first contact with these traitors to humanity. They have used our presence, our concern for them to destroy their opposition – and the blamed us for their crimes. I will not tolerate it!

I ask you all to support those brave warriors that fight against the injustices that have been forced upon our fellows of the planet Earth. It is not only Earth that needs our help but we now fight for our own survival. When those that survive return to the Colonies, do not pity them as victims as you would a carrier of a plague, but honour them as friends and loved ones, as heroes that they truly are.

They have sacrificed everything and deserve our congratulations and our sympathies and our support. Do not treat them with derision or hatred because of their failure. We went to Earth in peace in brotherhood. That extended hand was slapped away, our brave soldiers and crews killed as if their lives were nothing. Those callous and barbaric actions show the intent and the resolve of the enemy we now face. I do not understand why they've done this.

Maybe they are already under Cylon influence. But my advisors and I know that they because of their actions both at Earth and Picon combined with the threats they have made that they will not stop until we are destroyed. They can't stop because if they do their people will learn the truth. I ask your support in this most turbulent of times. Thank you."

President Adar's face didn't show the relief or the raw fear that pervaded his entire body. His aides and supporters were giving him quiet praises of approval but he was more concerned about his enemies. Senator Jamison hadn't said a word against him directly however the rumor mill ran rampant and Adar was sure that he was behind most of it.

When Colonel Hawthorne had told him, for the third time, everything that had happened to the Liberation fleet, the President could still barely believe the magnitude of the disaster. The military had managed to turn this simple exercise into the greatest frackken mess he'd ever seen. On top of that the destruction of Picon station was seen by everyone. Several thousand more people died (and the injured is still being counted), as the station's remains hit the surface of Picon. Those fragments might as well have been nukes to the very heart of his political career.

Colonists on all twelve worlds and a few smaller outposts hid inside bunkers terrified for the next two days as they waited for attacks on their worlds. While Caprica was under curfew, he was hiding in a bunker waiting like everyone else for the Earthers to hit the capital of the Twelve Colonies. His constant reassurances to the people in no way reflected his true feelings about the competency of the Colonial military.

He was out to save his political skin, which meant that he was now required to perform well in the most dangerous political arena known to mankind.

"Questions?"

"…The planet the Thirteenth Colonists call Earth is much like Caprica. Earth does have more water than Caprica and it supports an amazing variety of sea life according to documentaries that we've intercepted. The planet is rich in resources and life."

"…The ruling party calls itself the United Peoples of the Planet Earth but we know them as the Tau'ri. All available data including transmission from Earth indicate that the colonists call themselves Earthlings or Earthers. Other than the agent Daniel Jackson who insisted that the people of Earth are called the Tau'ri, that name has not been mention in any of the recordings we have. It may well be a secret arm of the government that are the true masters of the Earth."

"…The majority of the Thirteenth colonists do not speak Colonial standard. That part of their heritage has been lost to them."

"…There is no direct evidence of Cylon activity. However, there is a suggestion that there may be Cylon influence within Earth's ruling body. Several entertainment programs appear to push the positive view of associating or interacting with Cylons. One such program our analysts have translated called 'The exterminator level 2' highlights a Cylon saving a young boy and his family from another evil Cylon. One theory that is gaining support with our political and military analysts is that the Tau'ri are subverting the population so that they will accept the Cylons when they arrive at Earth in force. If that theory is true, then there is a high probability that a connection may well exist between the Tau'ri and Cylons. Another program that adds credence to this theory is called Trek in the Stars, the next generation. There they have a Cylon who is treated as an equal with the humans in that fantasy. Again I stress that there is no direct evidence so far but we're still analyzing our data."

"…the Tau'ri military fired first. We announced our intentions to free Earth from their tyrannical influence and they fired at the liberation force."

"…Yes, the military had sufficient time and resources to liberate the Earth. We were unaware that the Tau'ri were preparing a trap for our forces."

"…The Colonial commanders were unprepared for the viciousness of the Tau'ri, and their weapons capability. Inquiries are being made to discover who is at fault if any. Our intelligence agencies responsible for accumulating data on the Thirteenth Colony are being reviewed as well."

"… As I've said before, the military was unprepared for the long-distance strike capability of the enemy. They used high-yield nuclear ordinance of a type our forces have never encountered before. Our scientists are efforting to understand the nature of their weaponry even as we speak. That cowardly attack destroyed sixty of our ships in their first strike. Thirty more reported massive damage."

"…No. The enemy did not give any warning as to their real intentions. The only transmission we received was and I quote, 'You have ten minutes to remove yourself from the system before we start killing your ships, anyone left after that time will be made an example of'. It was immediately after that that they begin to attack our ships. Many of the Vipers were caught in the nuclear blasts and our brave pilots died trying to defend their ships and crewmates."

"…Yes, our ships defended themselves as best they could. With such an aggressive strike, Admiral Nagala responded accordingly with an Alpha strike. I understand that we destroyed forty percent of their forces and more than sixty percent of their fighters."

"…Apparently. Admiral Nagala was killed during a battle with the Prometheus. The alpha strike was ordered to allow our elements to escape more bloodshed."

"…Tau'ri ships are very fast, the majority of the missiles were either destroyed or evaded. But as I've stated before approximately forty percent of their attack force was destroyed."

"…They were aware that our forces were withdrawing but they continued their attacks. During that retreat Nagala's Warstar was destroyed. The Prometheus has a beam weapon that is effective enough to destroy any ship it comes in contact with."

"…We have no idea at this time but our scientists are developing countermeasures against that weapon. They also assure me that they will be able to duplicate the nuclear weapons used by the Earthers as soon as they understand how they modified their weapons."

"…Given Tau'ri aggressiveness, we believe that most of the Colonial prisoners of war have been or will be put to death if- the gods bless them. We assume that some of them will be condemned to spend the rest of their lives in slavery."

"…Commander Cunningham and his squadron are heroes of the highest order. He sacrificed himself to give the others time to get away. The Tau'ri used another land-based weapon of unknown origin against Cunningham. But it was during this time that as the Tau'ri destroyed his squadron that they fired nuclear weapons at their own world, blaming it on us as you've no doubt seen and heard on their transmission. The Tau'ri used the destruction of our ships as a diversion to remove millions of people that were united against them. Those are the very ones we were attempting to liberate! The Tau'ri massacred them. This totalitarian government must be neutralized before they kill millions more."

"…Charged with war crimes? Without a doubt, yes. They have already chosen to continue this conflict. I have talked to several of the Chiefs of Staff in the last few days and we believe that they may have planned this attack on Picon and against the colonies in general way in advanced. The ships that attacked us – and there were several, not just one as they implied – either arrived here far more quickly than our own vessels which is unlikely, or they were already coming here or they have a secret base in a system not far from the colonies. They knew where our colonies are and planned this pre-emptive attack."

"…We're not sure. After the Picon attack our crews reported the destruction of at least two, maybe more of their ships. We very likely destroyed or damaged them so that they could not continue to their destructive activities on the other worlds. Once Picon was attacked, our other worlds were prepared for any attacks. They realized this and fled rather than be destroyed."

"…No. The people are supporting the office of the Presidency. This isn't the time to have politics cripple our unity. The Earth must have colonies or know of other worlds where humans live. They made that very clear in their so-called declaration of war. We can only imagine the horror that those people are living under. That makes it more imperative than ever that we save these people from themselves."

"…The Tau'ri government are monsters, destroying any and all opposition in order to maintain their power. The nuking of their own world provides ample evidence of their ruthlessness. Given time, they will try to destroy us simply to keep their powerbase intact. They may even unite with the Cylons. But I promise you that I will do everything in my power to protect the colonies and the enslaved inhabitants of Earth from the horrors that their evil government can devise. In the name of the gods I swear this...!"

The tirade on the screen ended as the recording was stopped. The lights within the SGC liaison briefing room at the Pentagon rose to normal levels. Jack O'Neill dropped the remote onto the table and surveyed the assembled officers around him, those he knew and trusted mixed in with those he knew and trusted as far as he could throw Teal'c.

"That's our lot; the probe picked it up as the transmission went wideband across the entire Colonial system for about six hours." O'Neill spoke up, "It went on repeating until they knew everyone in the system heard the psycho blowhard say his peace."

"Then we've got a problem," Daniel Jackson piped up. "We already knew a certain section of the colonies were willing to take us to task about our belief structures. This is the first time we've really had any confirmation that their government are willing to turn this into such a massive conflict. They have a government and religion based on the ancient Roman and Greek city states of this planet leading me to think that they were seeded there by some Goa'uld system lord a few thousand years ago with no real exposure to the more 'modern' religions we have now."

"This guy's trying to rile up his entire people to fight us, which means that if they can figure out that we're as stuffed as we are then they could hit us again and again until we can't stop them even with assistance from the Jaffa and Asgard."

"Tactically we're in a bad position in regards to their use of faster than light technologies. They could easily jump within the atmosphere and launch just about any kind of weapon we can name." Colonel Carter looked up from her folder. "The information gathered from the debrief of the engineers aboard some of the larger ships, their 'FTL drive' is some form of point to point jump technology allowing them pinpoint accuracy within a certain distance. Their biggest problem seems to be stellar drift and the problems of jumping without proper co-ordinates in case…"

"Colonel," O'Neill warned.

"Sorry Sir, their close in faster than light drives are quiet, accurate and their point defences can overwhelm any attack we can launch from our fleet. We could hold off another attack but after that our forces would be overwhelmed long enough for a nuclear exchange or landing by enemy ground forces."

"Bottom Line Colonel?" the president asked. "Should we be afraid of another attack any time soon?"

"I don't know Sir; until we've been through all the Intel on these new drives I can't say whether they would have enough of a force left to attack us again, not without knowing precisely what numbers they may have at their command station. The ships they escaped with are simple in construction and repair and the last few weeks could easily have allowed them to rebuild their forces to an extent."

"Have we got anything at all to stop them, if they are that accurate with those engines what do we have to fight them with past the chair platform?"

"We have some equipment under development, but nothing to stop the close range jump of the Colonial ships if they come at us. Even the rail gun and anti-missile emplacements being built around major cities and military positions won't be enough to hold off any determined attack. Doctor Lee at Stargate Command has been leading the engineers at Area 51 over the last few years."

"By the tone of your voice Carter I'm going to assume Lee is already set to brief us isn't he." O'Neill smirked

"Yes Sir, he's been gathering his reports for a few days…. he's aboard the Daedalus with a few of the scientists and engineers from Area 51 and Atlantis."

"Of course he is. Alright Carter bring him down, you better tell the security guys that they've got an incoming we don't want him shot… well at least not badly."

"Aye Sir."

The communication to both the isolation room and the Daedalus went ahead virtually simultaneously; the closed circuit systems watched Doctor Lee as he underwent the exact same checks, scans and searches that the others in the room had undergone. Even Lee's glasses and briefcase were removed and replaced with copies just in case. O'Neill smirked as the geek scientist was hustled through the last security area into the outer offices of the briefing room.

"Doctor Lee, I believe you have a report for us." The president said as the senior most civilian scientist of the SGC was brought into the room, the middle aged man looked around wide eyed at the combined brass of the military services. Only the gentle smile and reassuring nod from Sam Carter and Daniel Jackson made Bill heel better about his predicament.

"W…well, yes Sir, we've begun accelerated research and design into a number of new weapons to increase the flexibility of our warships." Doctor Lee pointed to the screen. "Since the Prometheus and later Daedalus programs went online we have done our best to use some of the technology we've discovered or designed. Indeed the rail gun and modified missile batteries on the Daedalus class are the product of years of research into technology we gathered in the first years or two of travel including that of…"

"Doctor Lee, please stay on topic," General Jumper suggested.

"Sorry, Sir. As I was saying, the technologies we have created over the last few years based on the designs created in house at the SGC are close to completion. With the increased budget and manpower now available to us we have cut development time by over half. With assistance of the Asgard and the Jaffa we have managed to build a few versions of our newest weapons. Our biggest problem to now has been the problem of acquiring sufficient resources to build those systems to the level we need."

Tapping on a tablet the screen changed to an orbital sensor feed from one of the SGC warships, two Colonial Destroyers sat at the edge of the Daedalus' engagement range. The feed changed as the main heavy rail guns swivelled and fired a full salvo of round, the four streams of cannon rounds slammed into the two derelict warships, each round exploding blowing holes right through the main hulls opening up the very interior of the vessel. A second salvo impacted almost directly within the hole blown into the destroyers breaking the back of one ship. The second ship's entire starboard idea exploded creating a massive breach throughout the escort vessel.

"What the hell was in those things?" demanded Admiral Jones. "None of our standard weapons have that kind of punch, and there was no way those were any kind of nukes."

"No, they weren't, Sir. With assistance from the Asgard we replaced the heavier rail guns of the Daedalus with a larger calibre. Although both ships had already been damaged by the detonation of the Mark Nine, both were intact enough to simulate an actual attack on a Colonial vessel. Asgard technology allowed us to keep the same rate of fire and the same velocity of round with a larger calibre. The rounds were made of the same alloys as the original rounds but we capped the heads with a Naquada mixture we developed based on notes taken from Apophis and Nirrti during the times we were able to raid their laboratories."

"Potassium," O'Neill said suddenly. "Christ Lee, that's insane."

"It was yes Sir, but with some extra metallic and energy shielding around any energised naquada sources we have managed to make the weapons much safer to use. The rounds are perfectly safe and as you can see will cause immense damage to Colonial ships even at smaller calibres. For now we're limited to two maybe three inch calibre weapons, we hope to get that higher soon."

"General O'Neill." Jumper turned to his junior officer. "What are you both talking about?"

"About eight years ago a single survivor of a planet Hanka was brought back to Earth by SG1, that survivor was a trap of sorts designed to destroy the Stargate and cripple Earth as a side effect." O'Neill explained, "The young girl had a mixture of Naquada and potassium inserted within her chest, the explosive effect would have destroyed NORAD, the SGC and the gate. With the amount of Naquada we had been brining back as well as the Gate itself… lets just say the Yellowstone volcano would be a sideshow next to the blast from this thing."

"It was a resonance within the gate that would have allowed the bomb to go off," Lee spoke up. "Any energise Naquada source such as a gate or reactor would allow the bomb to go off so the reactors of the warships and the actual armouries themselves are being reinforced with heavier armour and several internal shielding systems courtesy of the Jaffa ships in orbit."

"Will this allow us an effective weapon against the other enemies we have out there?" Jumper asked.

"Against shielding systems the weapons are more effective than the normal rounds. The Wraith ships will also be more susceptible to both the explosive detonation and the radiation. However neither will be too badly damaged due to their defences being quite capable against most forms of kinetic attacks as well as explosives. The actual attacks will be at least on a par with the plasma cannons of the older Ha'taks and fired at a much faster rate."

"Very impressive Doctor Lee, anything else?"

"We have a few designs in the works Sir, plasma weapons laser and particle cannons all with assistance from our allies. We may even be close to a breakthrough to help equip the 302s with more effective weapons and electronic countermeasures based on some of the weapons we are reverse engineering from the Viper classes. Those fighters are pretty amazing if I may say so they outclass our fighters in pure manoeuvrability and fly by wire systems but are slower and less well armoured than our own fighters. But they can obviously build these things in massive numbers which seems to be the lynchpin of combat tactics and military power in their culture."

"How long before you can begin designs to refit our fighters with their weapons?" General Thompson of the British Army looked across to the other Generals. "We need to equip the 302s as well as any suitable planetary squadrons with more efficient weapons. Our own engineering teams have seen the specs coming out from the engineering. They have a few ideas if Doctor Lee will allow them to work with your own teams."

"Of course, the more the merrier," Lee stuttered. "We've bringing all engineering teams together that we can. Also we've been checking the information garnered from the intact databanks of their largest ships and have come across a number of interesting systems. Most of their ship is a few decades behind our own systems aboard the Daedalus class but at least as impressive or maybe more advanced as our ground based systems, meaning most are pretty much useless for anything except date storage and recycling. But a few are going to be useful for our ships when and if we can engineer them into our own vessels."

"How effective are their faster than light systems?" Colonel Chekov asked. "Would they be of much use to us compared to the hyper drives that our ships are already using?"

"I believe so Sir. The information that we have gathered indicates that engine is only held back by the inferior computing power and energy generation capacity that is inherent in their ships. With a computer and reactor system such as those on our own ships should allow us a much more accurate short and long range jump for a lot less power than we use for the hyper drives."

An incoming signal emitting from the briefing screen interrupted the meeting. The spinning icon of Stargate Command replaced the Pentagon Sigel on the holographic viewer. The dark screen cleared to the as always impassive face of Chief Harriman staring back."

"My apologies Sirs. The Asgard have picked up multiple nuclear and other unidentified detonations approximately one hundred light years from Earth a few seconds ago. The radiation footprint is the same as that from the weapons fired by the Colonials; at least twenty detonations were picked up possibly more," Harriman said. "NORAD has ordered all units to remain at Def Con one for the foreseeable future."

"Thank you, Chief," Jumper replied.

Before Harriman could cut the transmission sirens began to ring throughout the SGC and the Pentagon. Spinning in his chair Harriman brought up the scans of local space fed to them by the ships within orbit.

"Oh crap," Harriman muttered. "All stations, all stations, Condition Red! Colonial ships in system, repeat Colonial Warships in system! All units to defence stations."

"CHIEF. Report!" O'Neill shouted. "How many ships?"

"Only five for the moment Sir, but the scans show one Battlestar and a few other ships," reported Harriman. "Sorry Sir, SGC out."

"The Odyssey?" Jumper asked.

"She's still undergoing refit and replenishment," Davis replied. "The Prometheus and Daedalus are still in orbit, the Jaffa and Asgard are standing by."

"Damn, Colonel Carter."

"Sir?"

"Can we stop those ships before they can hurt the planet's surface?"

"I don't know Sir, I really don't know."

_**Battlestar Pegasus**_

_**Combat Information Center**_

Five bursts of light interrupted the quiet night within the asteroid belt separating the inner and outer planets of Earth's stellar system, replacing empty space with hundreds of millions of tons of metal.

"Jump complete, Admiral. The Eagle stayed behind. The rest of the group are holding station to the flanks."

"Position."

"Just inside their asteroid belt. Earth is right where we calculated."

"Time to jump co-ordinates."

"Thirty seconds."

Looking at the DRADIS the first few returns from the scans finally returned, the ship's computers reading a number of ships in orbit. Between them and the Earth ships was the dreadful sight of the 'graveyard' of ships that they had run from only weeks before. However the DRADIS noticed that at least two ships were unlike those they had fought against.

"Sir, we're reading at least five ships in orbit. I don't recognise two of them, but the ECM of the other ships are identical to those of the Tau'ri ships."

"They have allies or more ships that they've called back," Cain mused. "Contact all ships uuencoded, load all guns and safeties off the nukes. We'll have one chance at this; we need to make the most of it."

"Aye, Admiral."

"SIR," the DRADIS operator called out. "All confirmed locks enemy ship positions have disappeared off our screens. We're getting very low level returns from their warships. Their fighter squadrons are reaching orbital height."

"Show me."

The DRADIS table lit up on all sides as the replay of the lost signals began to play. All five observed warships simply disappear between one pulse and the next. As one of the smaller targets disappeared a dozen or more smaller signals seemed to emanate and disappear from the scans. Two more pulses later all that could be seen were the wrecks of the graveyard and a cluster of ships separate from the debris.

"Oh, frak," the XO said. "They've been using our ships, IFF beacons still online on most of them. They've got at least thirty intact ships including both Warstars Admiral."

"They can't have stripped them down so fast. I think that they are more for Intel gathering," Cain mused. "If those ships are mostly intact, so are the databases and the networks. Helm change of plans, lock in new co-ordinates. All ships ready all weapons; we're taking our ships away from them. Detach Group Two to make a run on the planet. Hit what they can and get whatever scans they can of the planet's surface and its surrounding area. We need more Intel on this planet to bring back home."

"Sir, their planetary defences were enough to stop a Battlestar flight and escorts let alone a few cruisers." the XO reminded Cain. "I agree we need the Intel but shouldn't we take the entire squadron through on this run?"

"Negative, XO. Hitting our own ships will split their forces enough to get at least a cursory scan of the area. With a little luck one of the cruisers will get out and make the rendezvous with us at the fallback point. We'll move from there. Helm?"

"Micro jump co-ordinates set. Retreat co-ordinates will be computed in one minute. The jump will severely reduce our fuel stores, Sir."

"I'm aware of that Lieutenant; tactical set nukes for impact detonation. Lock bombardment nukes on to critical targets."

"Critical targets, Sir?"

"Warstars and command Battlestars have priority. Next hit anything else that you can lock on to. Cruisers to stay at flanking position, as soon as their missile stores are empty get out. We'll follow afterwards."

"Aye, Sir. Resetting to active targeting, missiles are set safeties off, outer doors are retracting. Bombardment nukes are ready for rapid firing."

"Then we go. Put me on to all ships."

"Channel open, Sir."

"Cain to all ships, break into sections and jump. The Gods' speed to you all, Cain out." Turning to the helm she nodded. "Jump Mr Hamilton."

"Aye, Admiral. Jumping in three, two, one..."

The nine ships of the Pegasus task force flashed out of existence, re-appearing only kilometres from their targets. The five ships of Pegasus' own section accelerated towards the mass of warships. Far beyond the debris field four more flashes of light appeared inside the Earth's atmosphere the bright red of re-entry burning away at their hulls, the dots of missiles launching from the forward firing batteries outpacing the warships.

"Sir our ships are active, energy reading show main reactors and sublight engines are online as are most internal systems. No sign of FTL spool up or weapons locks."

"Lock weapons on critical targets. Fire at will," Cain said.

"Sir, we have people on those ships."

"And no way for us to get them out in time, now authorise missiles launch XO, or I will have you relieved of your position."

"Sir, they've had those ships for weeks it's more than likely they already have the information they need. All this will do is kill our own people. Prisoners we might be able to get back at some point, this attack should not go ahead."

"Marine guard, remove the Colonel and return him to his quarters. Major Fisk, take the XOs position and launch missiles," Cain ordered.

"Yes, Sir."

"Sir, I can not and will not allow you to murder those soldiers. They can be saved…" The argument was rendered moot as the ship was rocked by the furthest of the Colonial cruisers detonating under energy fire from an unseen source.

The remaining cruisers launched their missiles at the other Colonial ships at close to point blank range. With no defences at all active, the missiles slammed into the already damaged ships, massive planetary bombardment missiles from the cruisers slammed into the clusters of larger ships rending the hulls into shrapnel and breaking the backs of numerous heavy ships.

Helpless cruisers and destroyers exploded under the assault. Their damaged and compromised hulls and missile pods collapsed. Other ships were damaged by debris smashing into their flanks and both upper and lower sides of their hulls. One heavily damaged Battlestar blew itself in half as the hastily repaired fuel tanks ruptured igniting its remaining fuel stores.

As the last of their missiles left the tubes two more of the attacking cruisers were blown into pieces by the unknown ship. Another pulse missed an insanely junking cruiser which ducked behind an exploding battlestar. The massive hulk shielded the last cruiser as it jumped from its hiding place into FTL.

"Frak! Helm get us out of here now!" Cain ordered.

The Pegasus pulled away from its attack run, silos only half empty in an attempt to run from the incoming energy fire. The pulses eerily familiar to the survivors of the original assault against Earth, engines spooling up the Mercury class Battlestar turned once again and jumped a single pulse lancing through it's dorsal hull and out the other side. With a flash the Colonial ship was gone.

_**Graceland**_

_**Memphis, Tennessee**_

_**Unites States of America**_

"Mommy lookit, that's his white costume."

"I know Jimmy, I know."

The day at Graceland had been the dream of Jimmy's family for years and his ma and pa had been planning this for his birthday for more than a year. A trip that been put on hold when the majority of flights had been cancelled after the Colonial attack, but even an alien invasion hadn't managed to hold off their son's enthusiasm for the trip to the home of the King. Her husband had been detained by his duty with the local fire service in their home town but was already on his way to join them a day after they had already landed, the bright sunshine and lack of wind had pushed up the temperature. The dust in the upper atmosphere was still obscuring some small amounts of the sun but not enough to stop the heavy Southern summer from being almost as stifling as ever.

Outside in the sun, the mother and son sat at a table watching the Elvis impersonators and devoted fans as they ran back and forth, some singing, some hamming it up. She watched as her son giggled and followed every movement of one Asian Elvis dancing with what seemed to be a pair of female Elvis'.

A scream came from one end of the enclosure causing many of the people to look around at the interruption. A woman, most likely a staff member of the house was looking into the sky. Above them a number on contrails were oncoming from high above them. More and more, missiles were being cut down by small flashes of lights caused by high altitude aircraft doing their best to destroy them.

However, one missile survived a hit that merely knocked out of its planned trajectory. Tumbling away, the fighters tried to destroy it failed to hit the wildly spinning missile.

Jimmy stared at the people running around not understanding what was happening.

"No! Oh God, please no."

"Ma, why is everyone running?"

"It's ok Jimmy. It's just a race everyone is in."

"Can we join in?"

"I'm sorry Jimmy, we can't… hey do you remember that song that you said you heard that you thought of me?"

"Yeah, Ma."

"Please sing it for me; I'd like to hear it again."

"Ma!!!"

"Please Jimmy just sing it for me, here at the King's home," She asked with tears starting to well in her eyes.

"Ok, Ma," the boy said singing the words quietly. "Well, that's all right, mama, that's all right for you."

Jimmy's mother sang softly with her son.

"That's all right mama, just anyway you do."

She hugged her little son tightly as they kept singing. "Well, that's all right, that's all right. That's all right now mama, anyway you do."

She held her son as close as she could as the single nuclear weapon detonated one earth mile above Memphis, Tennessee for maximum effect. Dozens of square miles on all sides were flattened by the detonation of the twenty megaton warhead. The mushroom cloud rose above the destroyed landscape, every building and tree flattened and incinerated by the blast. Hundreds of thousands of men, women, and children, ceased to exist as the fireball and shockwave destroyed everything on the surface.

_**White House Command Bunker**_

_**Washington D.C.**_

"Three cruisers have been destroyed by the Asgard Sir, the last of the attackers from the second group has already jumped out…enemy Battlestar is manoeuvring for a shot at the Warstars… missiles from enemy cruisers have been eliminated… one direct impact reported."

"Where?" The president asked exhausted.

"Tennessee, it detonated directly above Memphis."

"Oh, my God. How bad?"

The officer could barely speak. It took a few seconds to suck it up before continuing the report. "Prometheus reports a twenty megaton nuclear weapon Sir, the missile was knocked from its original trajectory by a flight of F302s that were in the area. It was heading for Virginia, close enough to damage the shipyards, if it had detonated, the first group of Apollos are under construction there," Jumper said. "The rest would have indiscriminately hit across the entire continental states, twenty and fifty megaton bombs scattered across the country would have crippled us and put us out of this war for the foreseeable future even with assistance from other worlds. The estimates...the estimates would have been in excess of one thirty to fifty million and that's a conservative number."

The President resisted the urge to stand up and scream-barely. "How did they know where to hit?"

"I don't think they did, Sir. Any missiles that seemed to head close to a critical military base I would guess were lucky targets. Other confirmed targets were the California shelf, Dallas, New York, Chicago, Washington State and Miami, any of those targets would have been catastrophic for us. Many of the others would have destroyed huge areas of the farmlands in the south. We'd have starved as well as frozen under the dust clouds we would inevitably have had."

Hayes turned to the table resting his forehead in his hands. The devastation of the original strikes across the other side of the world was still being catalogued and estimated after the first attack by the Colonials even after a month had passed. Now the cost of life and the cost to the infrastructure and morale of the United States would be out of proportion compared to the actual damage taken by his country. But nine hundred miles of death and complete devastation would push the attitudes of the Americans to the brink. The hatred in his country would make the 2001 attack on New York like a mild breeze compared to a Hurricane.

"That's not all Sir. We've had transmissions from the Asgard and Jaffa ships the Colonials attacked the holding point. They used massive nukes against their own ships, possibly to stop us using them or gathering information from the database. We managed to get about half of the prisoners off of the ships that were destroyed. The majority of the smaller ships were already empty..."

"But…"

"But the majority of their heavy and capital ships were still full, most of them died when their ships were blown apart, others were killed from decompressions and radiation. More than a few will die over the next few days with or without our more normal types of treatment."

"Bottom line, General."

"We help the Colonial POWs or we let them die where they are slowly and in many cases in agony."

"So I have to choose whether to maybe save a few thousand of our enemy against possibly the same number around Tennessee; choose who deserves it more – those murdered by their own side, or those murdered by their enemies."

"Yes Sir, that's about it," Jumper said

"How long do they have?" The President asked.

"Some are too far gone to save as it is Sir but they will be dying hour by hour. Even the best off will be dead within three days the rest earlier. There are still thousands however that were unaffected by the attack and we'll start beaming them off and to the island as soon as possible."

Hayes sighed and looked at his officers. The Colonials needed treatment as much as anyone on Earth. The radiation effects of the Colonial weapons were horrific to the point that there were few survivors of the impact around each of the bomb craters. There were many more that might survive if he allowed the Colonials to get the advanced medical techniques their allies had given them.

"Begin immediate evacuation of their ships to secured areas and use whatever materials you need to help stabilise. Save those that you can. Find out if the Colonials have any medical staff left on their ships see if they have anything that might be of use against radiation weapons."

"Then Sir, I suggest we begin steps to mobilise the armed forces to keep peace in the streets." General Jones said. "I don't say this lightly sir, but the fact is that the other countries are undergoing massive upheavals. In Russia there are riots unlike anything since the Revolution and many countries in Europe are battening down. Even with the Asgard's help to suppress the radiation, allowing the Colonials to receive medical treatment that most believe should be used on our own people will cause problems all across the country and very likely in allied countries."

O'Neill nodded and spoke up. "Sir, as news of this attack spreads we will have a number of internal problems when the public realise their security is threatened and it's not just overseas somewhere." He grimaced. People as far as Washington and a significant portion of the East coast already knew what had happened. The collective fear would soon turn into rage the likes no one had seen since Pearl Harbor. "Much as I hate to admit it, we may have to go along with General Jones' plans if only to keep the peace around major military bases."

Hayes looked at the assembled Joint chiefs and his own staff as they digested just what the general was saying. The very idea that their own soldiers would be forced to walk the streets just to keep order was unthinkable to their way of life. But with the changes the world had had to endure in so small a timeframe they couldn't help but know that the way of life of the public would have to change as it was.

"There hasn't been a full mobilisation on our soil since the Second World War General. How do you expect me to agree to what would under any circumstances be nothing more than Martial Law?"

"I'm not Sir. I'm merely asking for us to mobilize enough troops to stop any wide scale riots. We can't afford financially or morally another catastrophe like the LA riots at this time. Calling out all active personnel should help us quell any serious problems and shore up the defences of our military construction and command centres throughout the United States. We have air superiority and localised defences against enemies coming from orbit. We don't have enough against any enemies we may have down here. The British, Canadians and many of the other countries within their spheres are calling up every regiment and crewman possible to reinforce their defences."

"If we reinforce every base we have, we'll have to recall divisions from our commitments abroad. I'm not willing to simply up and leave those that may need us abroad. You can recall all units from any of the services immediately, but I'm not pulling them out of the hotspots we've already got. There's too much at stake."

"Very well Sir. We'll also need permission to use the transporters of whatever ship is in range to start transferring personnel to the areas as the riots spring up as well as to speed up the recall of off duty and detached units that we'll need to bring back home."

Hayes simply nodded at the request gesturing for the rest of the people to leave the room. Beckoning O'Neill to stay, he walked away from the table and looked at the screen recessed into the wall. The destruction of a major city on American soil had not happened in hundreds of years and now only weeks after the last attack on his world Hayes had been forced to watch as a single deadly missile murdered hundreds of thousands of his fellows.

"Do you believe that is a revenge attack by the Colonials because of the attack on their major shipyard?" Hayes asked General O'Neill.

"Not a chance Sir. We know that they don't have the technology for faster than light communications, or the speed and endurance to get message anywhere near their people to set up an attack this fast. I think it was more a last 'screw you' from the commander of that group of ships, possibly one of the surviving senior officers. But we won't know until we have some of the more co-operative prisoners have had a look at the footage we've got."

"What have we got if we need to make another punitive raid?"

"Nothing, Sir."

"Pardon me?"

"Nothing Sir, I mean we are stretched to breaking point now, we need time to recoup our losses and start construction of new ships and equipment. Our off-world allies have begun delivering the first of the newest batch of spares and equipment to repair our ships and fighters, but we've don't have enough materials to begin construction of any new warships outside of the Apollos yet. The mining facilities on Motherlode haven't finished construction, yet so we're going to be short of usable Naquada for a while since the last stockpiles have been exhausted."

"Options?"

"Settle all our ships into a defensive position only Sir, merge what we have left into a rotating flight status. We've got to recover Sir otherwise we'll exhaust ourselves and be completely at the mercy of anyone who decides to come at us, without rest and repair our ships will fall apart and with it any chance we have against the Colonies."

"Can we rebuild our forces to what they were?"

"Not without some serious financial and material help Sir, I think we need to talk to the Jaffa."

"Where's your Jaffa friend… Teal'c?"

"He's off world at the moment with the Jaffa council."

"I see, going over my head General?"

"Not at all, Sir, merely gaining a head start on procurement."

"Keep on it, General. We need as much help as we can get. Time to start pulling in favours we're owed around the Galaxy. See if you can't wheedle a few cargo ships or container ships out of them we're going to need them I hope."

"Already on it, Sir."

_**Viper Engineering Facility**_

_**Mitsubishi Testing grounds**_

_**Japan**_

"I tell ya what old man; these fighters need a good computer overhaul, as in as fast as damned possible."

"How so Grant-San?"

"Well, the things are so overly complex that the systems are almost a jumble," Steven Grant said. "Looks like they were trying to combine a few techniques to stop electronic warfare against their main systems. They've blocked up the mains with too much code and the processors and memory have been increased substantially to compensate. My bet would be that they had put in place some kind of attempt to tie in a few different anti-virus systems and firewalls. It's pretty effective too, though; brute force where finesse couldn't can't be used. We won't be able to reprogram this from the ground up without some serious work on the coding, that'll take bloody years at this rate."

"So we refit these fighters with the normal equipment we use on our own fighters?" asked Hikiru Yamada in his native Japanese. "Or do we substitute some more advanced systems such as those the United States now have?"

"I think we need a full rip out and refit of the computers and power systems for these things. Then we'll see what we can get out of it. The basic engines and computer systems of the F22s and typhoons should hold for now but anything more than atmospheric use will need more advanced stuff like on those fighters that the space forces use."

"Then these fighters can be of use."

"Yep, no problem with them as fighters, weapons are good, engineering is a bit on the bulky side but it works. But I'm buggered if I can figure out what this fuel system is built for; it's like the bastard child of an aero spike and an afterburner. This damn thing must be fast as heck upstairs and bloody fast in atmosphere. I think we need to consider rebuilding one of these things as a test run, they could be damned useful if those nasty little buggers decide to come back."

"To fight fire with fire, as you say?"

"You've been around me too long Hikiru; I'm starting to rub off on you."

Pulling himself out from under the fuselage, the British engineer grasped the proffered hand from his Japanese cohort. The Viper beside them had been partially stripped of its outer coving the canopy armoured skin and the majority of the access covers into the internals of the fighter had been removed. The intricate internal systems were peeled away layer by layer as the Earth engineers attempted to learn how the advanced space fighter worked.

"Mr Grant, Mr Hikiru."

Both engineers turned to the new voice approaching from the hanger entrance, the rain outside had not let up leaving the figure covered in water. Pulling off the railcoat the man revealed an officer's uniform. The older American officer brushed away the rain off of his hat as he laid it down on the top of an already cluttered counter.

Grant nodded to the Colonel. "Good Evening Sir."

"So anything useful in this pile of junk?"

"She's not a bad craft Colonel, she's faster than anything we've got in the atmosphere and has some seriously advanced avionics compared to a lot of the birds we have down here. The best part is their guns though. They've managed to create a decent cannon system that will function both in atmosphere and in space. Their biggest problem is the limited missile systems and almost no ECM at all. But against most of our atmospheric fighters it's a match if not better."

"How useful for us though?"

"Depends Sir. We'd have to remove and replace the entire computer system, strip out the fuel system and replace the missile points with the more standard part. In all we can refit six of these for the cost of one Tornado or F-16 from scratch. It'll take a while to reverse engineer their guns but it'll improve the load out those new birds we've been building down here."

"Mr Hikiru?"

"I agree Colonel; these fighters will be of use to our forces once the refits are complete to back up our other fighters. Fighting fire with fire in essence. I would very much like to see some of our own craft armed with these weapons for use against the Colonials and the other races we are fighting."

"Yes this damned Gold race, or whatever the snakes call themselves. I'll get clearance to rip out some of the systems from the damaged craft for mounting on whatever fighters we have in the area. Let's see if we can't make those Colonial bastards cry a little once they have top face the upgraded forces we can array against them. Anything else?"

"Nothing I can think of Sir. Once we get the parts to refit the prototype we'll see what we can do with them. However, I don't think we should really begin refits until we've gone through every single piece of tech they have just in case."

"Paranoid Grant?"

"No Sir, but wouldn't you have something in your planes in case an enemy agent tried to steal it? Especially if from what I've heard it's the most advanced fighter you can get your hands on?"

"Good Point. Alright I'll have the equipment stockpiled from our bases back home."

"Actually Sir, the Typhoon Avionics are a better fit than most American equipment. The Raptor and Strike fighter stuff is too hefty to fit in these things and the older fighters aren't quite powerful enough. But the missiles and engine systems from the F-18s should do nicely for the basic atmospheric work."

"So we'd need 302 kits for space flight?"

"Pretty much Sir, although the latest Russian equipment might be useful to compare."

"Ok, I'll have some spares passed down from the States, Brits and Russians, see what we can do. The other teams are going over the other fighters as well just in case there's something useful we can use in them."

"Ok Grant, get your reports together, then contact the other teams. I want full breakdowns of this as soon as possible, let's see if we can't figure these damn things out before Tupolev can."

_**Presidential Bunker**_

_**Caprica City Outskirts**_

_**One Mile Below the Surface.**_

The Presidential bunker had been designed and built during the first Cylon War. It was already known that the Cylons would try to decapitate the defence of the Colonies once the revolt had begun. A makeshift shelter had been built within the deepest titanium mines that could be found. As the Cylons were pushed back the construction of a massive underground chamber began.

The massive construct was built around a heavily armoured central section with smaller annexes coming from all sides. In an emergency more than ten thousand people could be safely evacuated into the cocoon. The President his family and entourage would be met by the other members of the government and a number of 'crucial' people that was believed would be best suited to deal with a post-war world.

Once locked down, nothing short of a concentrated bombardment from dozens of planetary attack missiles could breach the earth covering the bunker or the layer upon layer of armour that made up the shell. Inside, the entire facility was run around the clock by an integrated network that was only attached through a pair of computer lines that was believed to be totally secure against any tampering.

"Alright, General Kealty," Adar said settling into his seat. "This better be good. That speech will only keep them quiet for so long. What happened and how the hell did the Earth people manage to get at our biggest and most defended military installation anywhere in the colonies?"

"They managed to slip into the system under some form of stealth Sir. The Tau'ri managed to completely block DRADIS, infra red, and any other form of scan we have." The General turned his head as he sneezed. "Sorry, Mr President."

"Quite alright." The President said a grimace only partially hid. "What about the defence ships that were suppose to be in the area, fighter patrols that I know you should have in orbit of Picon at all time?"

"They were there, Sir. The enemy ship managed to sneak through our line directly into close orbit of the anchorage. By the time the ships we had in the area managed to reach firing range the enemy ship simply jumped into whatever faster than light drive they had and disappeared from our screens."

Adar glared at Kealty, forcing him to continue under that withering stare.

"I was assured that their FTL drive wasn't particularly fast or efficient. Their 'Prometheus' vessel was barely able to jump a few dozen light years without having to wait several days for a cool down of their systems. Our own ships with a decent fuel supply can go further that that and much more quickly. It is possible that that ship was one of those vessels that were at Earth, however I doubt that. They would not risk uncovering their defences merely to strike a single target no matter how crucial to our forces."

"Then what do you suggest it was?" he growled. His anger was seeping through "A mirage?"

General Kealty cricked his neck his displeasure the patronising tone of Adar's voice more than evident. "No Sir not at all. In order to keep a world like Earth more or less safe they would need a larger force than the scratch defences that they had in place. Their tactics were a defensive strategy, attempting to hold us off as long as possible until reinforcements could arrive from elsewhere."

"Then this attack came from where?"

"I don't know Sir, but I believe as does the intelligence services, that there is a Tau'ri base of some kind somewhere closer to the Colonies. We are making attempts to find any base that might well be in the area. Unfortunately we are low of scout ships and unable to gain any Intel from the fighter debris that we uncovered." He sneezed again. "However I do think that we'll have at least some information once we've managed to pull out the information we need that we should be able to remove any danger to the colonies."

Pulling out a handkerchief the General dabbed at his nose before continuing. "We've been using a single Battlestar group to check every system thoroughly in the immediate area. We'll be dispatching single cruisers as they are replaced on the lines by the recalled exploration squadrons."

"I'm very wary about that, Kealty. We've lost almost a quarter of the entire fleet in less than two months. Do we have the numbers to hold our space should the Cylons decide to make a reappearance?"

"Each of our Battlestars is worth two or more Cylon warships in battle. Combined with their escorts, I have no doubt even with the loss of the Earth fleet that we could hold the line and give the Cylons a severe beating should they try anything. However to be sure, the bone yards are being fully manned to get anything we have that's intact out into service. However we still don't know how many decommissioned vessels can be brought into service quickly." The General paused. "Sir over half of the ships under construction were destroyed when Picon Anchorage went up, we need to increase warship production and speeds as soon as possible."

The word 'taxes' had reared its ugly head once more. "This means, more money and more personnel I assume."

"Yes Sir, the fleet's numbers have been catastrophically reduced. We've recalled all reserve personnel as well as the trainees to crew the fighter corps. We've got more of the older reserves being retrained for the ships we're retrieving but it'll be a while until the first squadrons can be brought online."

"Very well General, I'll have the orders put through increasing the budget and preparations to increase the military presence around the Colonies. Look like I'll be making another damned speech. Get on it, General. I want numbers of active ships and how many you can get online and how fast."

"Without Picon Sir, it'll be a substantial amount of time merely to refit the ships coming home let alone rebuilding the derelicts. We may have to begin requisitioning civilian shipyards in order to increase our numbers quickly as well as start production on any new ships we have on the books. Bottom line sir, we've got enough ships to secure this system and the border that's it. Anything else will need to be civilian-based operations."

"Alright General, you've said your piece. You'll have what you need to continue this war, and in the meantime you begin reinforcing the colonies own defences I don't want another Picon on our hands. The public hasn't forgotten the attack on Caprica city forty years ago and they will not forget this. Now get out. I have work to do."

The president merely turned his chair away from the General infuriating the senior most military officer further serving to push his already flushed face redder. Turning away, the General stalked from the room slamming the door as he went out. Adar stopped his work and leant back into his chair. Turning his chair around again he looked into a darkened alcove set into the side of the room.

"What do you think?"

"I think he's scared Mister President, and I have to agree with him in some aspects." Gaius Baltar stepped out of the cubby hole. "The Earth public will not take our actions lightly if Picon was any indication. If they do have any bases in this area of the galaxy we'll have more problems than simple raids. The defences of the Colonies will need to be enhanced and both updated weapons and software will be needed to run them."

"I'm pulling the CNP contract out of the public sector and naming you and your team the primary contractors to the military for the project. I want that program in production and complete as soon as possible. We'll need these upgrades to hold these Tau'ri off until we can overwhelm them with sufficient numbers."

"Yes Mr President. I believe we can have it ready and complete within the year, possibly less if we manage to get more personnel onto the project itself. Otherwise one year is the bare minimum with possibly another six months to refit all Colonial warships with the upgrades to their computers and the new programming."

"That's not good enough Gaius, I need something to show the public now, not in a year's time."

"Then dispatch the first fleet to the border."

Adar's eyebrows collided with his hairline as Baltar's words fully registered, the first fleet was the very best that the colonies had to hand. Five Battlestar groups that were permanently held within the inner colonies as the last line of defence for Caprica and her sister worlds. The Battlestars were a mix of the newest and greatest ships in the fleet mixed with the veterans of the Cylon War. It seemed that every move he was making to strip the fleet of those useless old ships were being stopped by providence.

"Are you joking? The public would crucify us if we sent the most visible defensive force in the colonies to the border!"

"Not the border, Mr President, simply have them begin a patrol around the colonies, never more than a single quick jump from Caprica and allow people to see that the fleet isn't beaten even with the defeat at Earth. It may even have a few more people start volunteering for service in the fleet. You may still be known as the president that took the Colonies through its darkest term," Baltar smirked.

'_All Too Easy'._

"Hmm, you may have a point there my friend. Alright, I'll send the First on a flying the flag tour. Get your team together Doctor Baltar you have some work to do and I would appreciate you completing it as short a time as possible. Feel free to conscript anyone you need to complete the program understood."

"Perfectly, Mister President and thank you. You won't regret it."

_**Prisoner of War Camp**_

_**Deserted Pacific Island**_

_**500 Miles North East of Australia**_

"Doctor Jackson, I think you might want to hear this."

Daniel looked up from his translation to one of the Camp's security guards who had been seconded to him as an attaché whilst he was staying at the camp. The translations had been difficult due to the mangling of old world dialects, but he had managed to create a working knowledge of the language to the point where he had been able to help program the 'Universal Translator', a name that gave Jack O'Neill a grin that took more than a day to leave his face.

"What's going on?" Daniel said walking from the room.

"One of the senior officers in there wants to talk with you. She's been checked and she's chained up so you won't be in any danger. However we have also erected a force field around the room so if there is anything that she has that might be of harm she won't get close."

"She asked for me by name?"

"Yes Sir, apparently you're quite famous with the Colonials."

"Possibly because they want me dead."

The look was a cross between amusement and the coldest glare Daniel had ever seen since the system Lords had demanded his eternal death. "They seem to want a lot of people dead Sir. Here she is."

Walking into the room Daniel face an attractive woman with long dark hair clad in the now ubiquitous orange jump suit the entire Colonial population were being issued. Chains bound her hands and legs together to a bolted down table in the middle of the room. The room was enclosed in a solid force field courtesy of the destroyed Jaffa ships that had attacked the year before.

"Hello?" Daniel said

"Hello Doctor Jackson."

"Well you seem to know me…."

"Gina, Captain Gina Knight of the Battlestar Pegasus."

"How can I help you, Captain?"

"Tell me Doctor what do you know about Cylons?"


	7. Chapter Six

_**Chapter Six**_

_**O'Neill's office**_

_**Department of Homeworld Security**_

_**Washington DC**_

"What the hell is a Cylon?" Jack asked.

Daniel had returned to Washington courtesy of the orbiting Daedalus after his brief meeting with the dark haired woman. His first impression was that the woman had been insane and needed to be removed from the population at large before she hurt herself or any of the other prisoners. The ease of which she broke the chains holding her in place made him change his mind rather quickly. The woman snapped the chains pulling the links apart and merely sitting where she was.

She had gone on to ask Daniel what he knew of the Cylons as a whole. His information had been inadequate being what little he had learnt in his original dealings with the Colonials several years prior and a few conversations whilst debriefing some of the more senior officers he had been shown.

"A Cylon is some form of robotic life form that was constructed by the Colonies around sixty or so years ago to make things easier for them. Apparently at some point the Cylons evolved and became self aware. Most of them were shut down due to 'malfunctions' as their manufacturers claimed. I'm not sure what happened but they rebelled against what they saw as a form of slavery and fought back."

"So it was a machine verses human war of some kind?"

"Apparently."

"Remind me never to allow them to see 'Terminator'. We could end up with a worse problem. Sorry go on."

"Well both sides agreed on a cease fire and the Cylons left the Colonies. Over the last forty years since the end of the war they've been rebuilding their forces and designing new models of Cylon soldiers and what they term 'infiltrators'. Some kind of cybernetic creation to literally infiltrate the colonies themselves. Captain Knight has some form of evidence to support her words."

"I was wrong they've already seen Terminator. How does she know all this Daniel what does she think she's one of these Cylons?"

Daniel just sat there impassively and looked at his friend. O'Neill stared back and lowered his head to his hands. Shaking his head Jack didn't know whether to laugh, cry, shout or throw up at the news.

"She thinks she's a Cylon and you believe her."

"Breaking her chains kinda let me to that conclusion Jack. One of the Asgard ships is going to perform a detailed scan of her body and anything in it. But if she is one of these infiltrator Cylons then there might well be others in the POW camps or even still on the ships we're evacuating. Their bodies apparently can sustain even high level radiation for considerable amounts of time."

"And she told you all this out of gratitude or something?"

"Not exactly," he explained. "She offered the information free of charge including information about the Colonies we don't have. She didn't say much more but I think she can tell us a lot more about the Colonies, the people, culture and yes Jack, she probably knows a lot about their military capabilities as well."

"I wasn't going to say anything."

"Well if the Cylons are the enemy of the Colonies as they claim then any information they can give us would be of use wouldn't it?"

"Daniel, look, we've been through a lot and you've grown up since I've known you but your still naïve as hell when it comes to stuff like this. For all we know she's some kind of plant to make us try to trust some of their people in order to infiltrate our side. Unless this Captain Knight can prove anything about what she says we're just gonna stick her back in prison… hell, she's going back even if she is some kind of robot in human's clothing."

"I'm not that naïve Jack and you know that it's possible that this is real. If there is some kind of fifth column within the colonies then we might have some kind of 'in'. Obviously the Colonials can't detect these Cylon infiltrators otherwise they would have been discovered by now."

"They may not have found them Daniel because it's a load of crap. Let's say for arguments sake that these Cylons are now somehow magically human. One: how did they become human from being machines and Two: how can we trust then as far as we trust the Colonials? For all we know they could be as bad as the Aschen or the Genii just waiting to stab us in the back like everyone else decided to."

"I can't promise that these people are who they say they are Jack but it's worth the attempt to find some kind of common ground with the Cylons, especially if the records we've managed to decipher are real and the Cylons did have to break free of their captivity."

"We've got the word of one possibly psychotic pilot and a bunch of half translated records that could easily be forgeries of some kind to get these people into our midst. Unless you can convince me that this is in any way not a trap of some kind, then this is conversation is over."

"Jack…"

"DANIEL, I said it's over with now. We've seen this kind of thing too often for me to trust this kind of Intel even if it's coming from you. If the Asgard find something then come get me if they find nothing then we forget about it and stick with our own ways of gathering Intel."

"But…"

"Don't make me call the Odyssey Daniel," Jack warned. "Last time I remember you weren't happy with where you ended up." The General seemed to calm down slightly and return his gaze to the archaeologist. "Look Daniel we've been friends for a long time, and I do trust you on a lot of things including first contacts with god knows what races we find out there. I don't trust them. Even if these Cylons are on our side for now what if they decided that we're just the next target? One human may just be like another to them same as most of us see on Goa'uld being the same as another even if they go under other names."

"Come on, Jack you trusted Jacob and Selmak. You trusted Martouf and Lantesh. I know you're not one of those people that paint everyone with the same brush, no matter what they've done over the years to us or anyone else. You trusted me before right? Then please trust me this time. There's something telling me this Captain Knight is being truthful."

"Fine, but don't say I didn't warn you."

"So noted. Anything else?"

"We've get the translator working more or less. Your professionals can begin their questioning when you like. But at least allow me access to the list of personnel she's going to give us. If she's telling the truth we may be able to filter them out quickly and easily."

"Alright, alright, fine. But if this all goes pear-shaped, I'm blaming you."

From the desk a buzz emitted from a small speaker. "General, Doctor Felgar's team are expecting you in ten minutes," the secretary's voice said through the intercom. "Doctor Jackson is being requested by the joint chiefs as soon as possible."

"Thank you Captain," .Jack replied. "Alright Daniel, I'll let you continue talking to this Captain Knight. A couple of marines will stay with you at all times and no arguments." He cut off the younger man. "You want to talk to this woman, you do it under my rules; otherwise we leave it there."

"And if she is a Cylon?"

"If she is one of these Cylons then we'll remove her from the encampment completely along with any others we find. Then we'll get down to the actual interrogation and whatever else we need to do. I want new allies as much as anyone but we've had bad dealings with other robotic races Daniel, most of them have wanted to kill us in one way or another."

"Yeah I know, but we've had some good dealings with other robots as well as artificial intelligences. We should at least give them the benefit of the doubt, until we can figure out if they are a danger or not."

"You've got three days it figure this out, after that if we've not got anything conclusive we'll have her and those she's named removed from the population at large. Hell we might get some useful Intel out of them anyway."

"Thank you."

"Alright Space monkey, but I'm sending Teal'c and Feretti with you just in case. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a meeting of geeks anonymous to get to and with no Carter to help translate what the hell they are talking about."

_**Jaffa Council Chambers**_

_**Capital City**_

_**Dakara**_

Shortly before the creation of the Free Jaffa nation, Dakara had been a place of worship dedicated to the praises of Ra and his people. The aftermath of the battles against the former loyalist Jaffa and the replicators had left the capital of the planet damaged and desolate. The space around Dakara was itself a graveyard of destroyed warships and debris that was still being collected and repaired even a year later. As a memorial to the battle the Jaffa had rebuilt the massive city into a capital for the fledgling Galactic power. The construction was still continuing albeit with assistance from the engineering corps of the IOA. This had allowed the Jaffa themselves to make up the shortfall that the short lived civil war had wrought on their already limited forces. The mix of old style Jaffa and new modern Earth construction techniques were an interesting sight.

"Teal'c, nice to see you again."

"Indeed Colonel Davis, my congratulations on your promotion."

"Thank you. How is the rebuilding of the city coming?" Davis asked, falling into step with the towering Jaffa.

"It is coming well, some of the more esoteric of our people do not wish for the Tau'ri to assist us with rebuilding what they see as the very centre of the Jaffa people. More so with the more advanced facilities that you have assisted us with thus far. They are however in a minority, many of whom were in one way or another affiliated with Gerak's faction."

"I didn't realise they still held sway within the council."

"Indeed, their influence is uncomfortable for those of us that wish to work together with the Tau'ri and other races that helped to bring about the downfall of the Goa'uld. Their adherence to their beliefs that the Jaffa themselves would have been capable of gaining our independence from the false gods is making this problematic."

"So what can we do to help?"

"That is something for another day, for the moment we are to discuss other matters pertaining to our alliance." Teal'c gestured to the main doors and followed the Colonel through to the council chambers. "Brothers the ambassador from the Tau'ri wishes to approach the council circle, I sponsor this request."

The circle of councilmen looked at Davis making him feel slightly uncomfortable as if he was a piece of meat at market. He walked into the circle his peaked cap already under his arm he fidgeted slightly before calming down.

"Colonel Davis, it is good of you to come," Bre'tac said.

"Thank you Master Bre'tac. I wish to thank you all for this audience. We were not expecting such a rapid response to our requests."

"It is our pleasure Colonel, our condolences on the attacks on your world. We know that many of your people were lost and in mourning. We will help in any way possible and the ships we have dispatched to Earth will stay until such time as you are able and willing to defend your own world."

"That is generous of you Master Bre'tac. I am also the bearer of bad news. Two days ago the Colonial fleet attacked Earth again and managed to jump into the gravity well. Out of the fifty weapons launched a single multi-megaton missile managed to impact within the United States. Half of the lower states have had nuclear fallout damage their crops and biosphere. A city by the name of Memphis and its surrounding area was destroyed by the attack."

"How was it they were able to get so close to the surface to do this?" asked one of the Council, an older grey haired Jaffa woman. "We were informed that your defences had been tightened and increased by the actions of both ourselves and the Asgard."

"They managed to get a single missile through Councillor out of fifty from close range, that one missile was a fluke hit that would not happen again. It is believed that this was some form of revenge strike by some of the survivors of the first attack to sow doubt on our abilities to defend our people as well as to cause as much damage as possible to knock us out of this war completely."

"Then this was a cowards attack on an unknowing population," Bre'tac said. "Then it seems that this meeting is more urgently needed than it was before. We invite you to sit with us Colonel and inform us as to the plans and requests of your leaders."

"Thank you Master, we wish to bargain with the Jaffa nation to acquire materials for construction and some technical assistance to upgrade our own ships. As you know, our ships are geared towards the heavy use of modified nuclear weapons and an anti fighter/missile system for use against smaller ships. But with the war with the Colonials the fleet, our fleet, is badly armed to take them on with the pure amount of projectile firepower they use. It will be very difficult for our missiles to make it through their anti missile defences in the numbers we can launch."

"So you wish for our help to upgrade the weapons and defences of your ships?" one of the council, a younger looking blond man with the golden mark of the first Jaffa of Heru'ur on his forehead asked. He was a lucky survivor of the all but annihilated legions of the former system lord. "The mighty Tau'ri warships need help from the lowly Jaffa to fend off yet another enemy that they have made during their rampage through the Galaxy when they should have left well enough alone. I do not see why we should even offer help past what we already have."

"You have made your position quite clear, Kar'ck" A third council member said. Davis recognised the much younger man as Rak'nor, one of Teal'c's allies within the original rebellion. "The Tau'ri have been good allies to the free Jaffa since the rebellion began, especially when many of your brothers were willingly trying to murder their people purely for not following a false god, your own included. You malign their sacrifices when they had no reason to help the Jaffa in any way and yet did even against those that would kill them in cold blood."

"Enough the both of you," Teal'c said. "This is not the time, or the place for this. The Tau'ri have helped us rebuild our city and saved many lives where we could not. You may think me biased in this but I have fought against both Tau'ri and Jaffa, and both are as honourable as the others. They have never asked for anything after saving us from our slavery until now."

"Yes, they want our help only after they have found something they can not take on by themselves. These Tau'ri have been responsible for as many Jaffa deaths in the last ten years as many System Lords did in one hundred or more; even destroying ships of the free Jaffa after we became their allies."

"We were made aware of Gerak's plans by his own words Councillor. He wished to bring Earth into the Free Jaffa Alliance under his own power as a vassal state. We refused and he brought the majority of the remaining forces that the free Jaffa had, including the attempt to secure the Antarctica weapons platform using cloaked landing ships. We had every right to defend ourselves and the remove any danger to our planet."

"Including those that surrendered after Gerak's command squadron was already destroyed by your own ships? What about the thousands of Jaffa that didn't know that they were attacking Earth because they weren't told the truth and wanted to surrender?"

"The 'surrendering' ships you claim wanted to give up fired on our ships even after flagging their stand down. Two of our ships that had come in were damaged by the point blank firing of your ships. It's the friendship and requests by members of the council that stopped our people from declaring war on the Jaffa nation, something that neither of our peoples could survive."

"You destroyed dozens of ships that held the greatest of our people and you expect us to assist you with the rebuilding of your world and fleet."

"We don't expect the Jaffa to do anything they don't want to. We have spent time and effort to save your people and help rebuild your capital because you needed that help. We didn't expect anything back unless you were willing to give it, however now we are simply asking for the same help in recovering from the attacks and making sure that Earth and by extension our allies, never have to go through this again," Davis snarled. "The Jaffa are warriors and proud of it. I understand this. I also understand that your people will need help to repair and begin production of ships and equipment throughout the Jaffa Nation. We agreed to assist with this and you yourself agreed that you needed this help because of the innate superstition within the Jaffa, now you don't want assist us in any way."

"You said yourself that your government isn't helping us for profit," another of the more opinionated Jaffa K'aru spoke up from beside Kar'ck. "The process of rebuilding is ahead of schedule within the city. Our engineers will soon be ready to start reconstruction of our fleets on their own without any interference from the Tau'ri."

"But until we've completed the transfer of supplies and information to your people, you are still vulnerable to anyone who builds a suitable force to take on the Jaffa Nation," Davis said. "In this regard I am authorised to remove those technicians and builders not engaged in the immediately necessary construction from all Jaffa help planets as well as remove any materials that we have brought with us that have gone unused so far."

The tone and words of Davis' speech did not go over well with the Jaffa council. In essence they were being blackmailed into helping the Tau'ri rebuild otherwise they themselves would be unable to completely copy the technologies of the false gods or create more advanced versions as time progressed.

"Then you will also refuse to treat us with Tretonin?" The last of the assembled Jaffa, the Lady Hacbur asked. "Many thousands of Jaffa are now reliant on the medicine and the maintenance that your people assist us with to keep production continuing, does this count as the necessary assistance that you claim that you will allow for the good of all Jaffa?"

"The Tretonin will continue to be supplied until your own people are capable of keeping the planets running. After that point we'd have no choice but to recall our personnel. What you all have to understand is that we have spent a lot of resources on helping the Jaffa become independent and even more helping with the rebuilding. This kind of draw is economically costly to those of us involved in the Stargate program. With aid needs and defence spending across our world we will be hard pressed to give any help to you. If we have nothing to show for it the people of Earth will demand we spend the resources on our own world."

"The President of the United States is the most powerful man on Earth. If the people decide to withdraw support to off world allies then he will have to cut down or stop the aid completely." Teal'c said, "It is at his sufferance that the Tau'ri have been willing to even help us considering what the Jaffa have done to their people for ten years. The alliance we have is necessary for the continued prosperity of both worlds and as such we should embrace them as they have us. The Jaffa nation owes them too much to simply make them leave and continue without our assistance. I too feel the loss of our brothers and sisters aboard the ships of Gerak however his action were without honour and without necessity. The Tau'ri will receive the help they need as and when we can provide it Colonel Davis, we simply request that the specialists that you supply remain."

Davis was surprised at the fervour that appeared in Teal'c's speech. The big Jaffa had rarely spoken as much as he had here and Paul as amazed at the oratory that he had supplied. Bre'tac, Rak'nor and a number of others were nodding their heads at this agreeing that the people of the Tau'ri had helped them.

Bre'tac took up the thread. "We will keep our ships where they are, we will also assist you with the creation of energy weapons based on our own ships and surplus foodstuffs and building material that we can spare to help the areas devastated by the Colonials. There is little more we can do without compromising our security or emptying our necessary supplies."

"Whatever you can help us with would be appreciated Master Bre'tac. Thank you all for listening to our requests."

"Much as some of our people wish for us to sever ties with the Tau'ri, the people of Stargate Command and your government have been there to assist us from the beginning. I will not throw away that friendship on the short sighted views of those of us that have not fought for their freedoms as we have. We shall begin the gathering of the useful materials as soon as we can in honour of our alliance with the Tau'ri."

"Thank you. That is all we ask."

"Now to other business. We have been given word that the Tau'ri wish to lease or buy several smaller craft within our fleet…."

_**Former site of the Picon Fleet Anchorage**_

_**Picon Orbit**_

_**Twelve Colonies**_

The area surrounding the former site of the fleet base was a mess. The remnants of close to a hundred billion tons of metal had been blown out, creating an orbiting ring around the planet. Massive chunks of the hull had already begun plummeting to the surface. The heavy armour and exotic alloys of the station survived the uncontrolled re-entry. Impacts on the surface of Picon had already churned up clouds of dust and ash.

From orbit, the mass of rescue and defence ships were streaming back and forth trying to save the people living far enough from the multiple impact points to have survived. The rain of smaller fragments had been making any aid operation difficult. Particles throughout the atmosphere were already causing even more disturbances across the land masses, the oceans and the very sky itself.

Tens of millions were dead or missing on the facing side of the planet with more injured each day, as the larger pieces that were missed by the trawling vessels hurtled towards the surface. High above tens of thousands of vessels from the military and civilian fleets orbited the devastated world, haulers and tugs were pulling massive chunks of what used to be the anchorage and its attendant ships away from the planet.

Warships were taking on more and more casualties as the evacuation shuttles evacuated the people of the facing side out of the impact areas. Super tankers, container ships and marine landing vessels were being pressed into service as refugee and hospital ships. Their copious decks were cleared of cargo or munitions and the injured or homeless were stacked inside each vessel as the rescue ships began to ferry them to camps being set up throughout Colonial space.

"Shit, that's a mess."

"The Tau'ri nukes did a hell of a piece of work on the entire area. We've got debris, radiation waves and unexploded ordnance from the armouries that were blown up all over the place."

"News from the surface isn't much better Colonel." The Commander handed a report to his exec. "More than a quarter of the planet is already uninhabitable because of the debris impacts, the radiation waves from the detonations and the station's own reactors spread across the entire hemisphere. Most of the planet's food and supply inventories are contaminated beyond use. The water supplies and farm lands in some areas will be completely useless for the next few thousand years. We've been ordered to cease brining up refugees in two days time."

"Two days, Sir?"

"After that the radiation bombarding the planet will have fatally infected anyone left," the commander explained. "Remind all crews that they need to rotate shifts to avoid radiation sickness. Both the fleet and the people have taken serious losses Colonel. I have a bad feeling that we won't see the last of the Tau'ri."

"No Sir, I don't think we will. We will make them pay for what they've done here."

"So say we all."

"Commander, Fleet Command is online for you." A voice came from behind, the Comms officer, interrupted as the two men conversed."

"Put it though to the phone, Lt."

"Aye Sir."

"This is Hercules Actual."

"Commander, this is Admiral Corman on the surface."

"Yes Sir."

"Commander this is a Code Alpha Blue transmission switch scramblers."

The scramblers on either end of the tight beam communication activated coding the frequency to an unbreakable rotating code. The Alpha Blue authorisation bring the commander's attention fully on his senior officer.

"Scrambled, Sir."

"Good, we require a security shuttle and an armed escort immediately. We have sensitive materials to remove from the…." A harsh cough erupted from the other end of the radio, "from the surface. Assemble them and have them report to the following co-ordinates immediately."

"Yes sir, do you require any medical assistance?"

"Negative, just a few scrapes and problems with dust and ash. We'll be awaiting the shuttlecraft, Corman out."

The radio disconnected as the Admiral broke off communications. The Commander of the Hercules was already moving ordering the shuttle and security contingent to the surface. A Raptor and a larger personnel shuttle dispatched from the portside bay of the Battlestar heading into the upper atmosphere of the planet.

"What do you suppose that was all about?" the XO asked.

"With that coding Colonel, It could be anything and I'm not totally sure I even want to know. Status."

"Bays are almost full Sir. We're still pulling hundreds of civilians and military personnel from the sites around the impact craters and the good news is that the majority of the opposite hemisphere is pretty much intact. We've got most of the debris before it hit. Looks like we won't have to evacuate the entire planet like we thought. BSG 27 is incoming to replace our group as soon as our ships are ready to leave. Close range FTL by all ships both civilian and military has been authorised by the President's office if and when necessary."

"Good, as soon as we're ready retract the bays and take us out."

"We've been seconded to the Aerilon refugee group. Do we wait for the Admiral's party to embark?"

"No. Knowing the Admiral, he'll use the FTL on those ships to get where he's going. Carry out my orders, Colin. I'll be on the port bay flight deck."

"Very good, Sir."

_**BBC News**_

_**London**_

_**England**_

"This is the Nine O'clock news from the BBC with Moira Stewart and Hew Edwards"

"Good Evening. In our top story tonight, in the aftermath of the nuclear attack on the United States, the Colonial warships involved have been tentatively identified by the International Oversight Authority as belonging to a group led by the heavy carrier vessel _Pegasus_ believed to have been one of the command ships that led the retreat from the battle in which the majority of their fleet had been destroyed.

Several of those ships have been confirmed destroyed with one more disabled by the quick actions of the Asgard Ship _Slepnir _which also intercepted an unknown number of nuclear weapons that seemed to have been launched at their own ships in order to prevent any information from being gathered from their on board computers and crews.

This has led to widespread riots as it was revealed that the Colonial survivors were being treated by the United States and allies, as well as the Red Cross for radiation and a number of serious injuries to a large number of crewmen from those ships. A leaked report has informed the general public of the general area that the Colonials are being held and treated not far from the coast of Australia. Two American carrier groups and an amphibious force, courtesy of the British and French Navies are currently making their way into the Pacific Ocean to join in the defence of the unknown island.

In other news in Greece today, several towns were in ruins today as mobs destroyed enclaves of their fellow Greeks that worshipped the old Gods of Olympus, as is known the major religion of the twelve colonies is that same religion. Greek officials within their law enforcement agencies believe this to have been a revenge attack on the towns in response to the fallout and hazardous conditions throughout all parts of Europe. In Athens, we go over to Keith Tranton."

"Throughout what remains of the Greek population, tonight mobs rampaged throughout several small towns and some major cities that still houses those few believers of the old religions that included the gods including Apollo, Athena, Zeus and Hera. The Olympic religion dates back thousands of years and was once the major theological and physical belief throughout Europe and Asia. Several versions of the religion were practiced mostly in the Greek and Roman empires.

Across Greece, priceless works of art, statues over two thousand years old and even ancient manuscripts and museum pieces collected over the last few hundred years were destroyed in the rampages. Cries of 'false gods' and 'burn the lies' were heard from several of the mobs in both Greek and English. Several of the employees that attempted to save the irreplaceable collection were beaten and in some places killed by the mobs. Surviving practitioners of this religion were hunted down and killed by roving mobs, many left hung from lamp posts or impaled on garden instruments and railings. Several towns that have not been attacked have been evacuated by IOA forces and relocated elsewhere. It is unclear how so many of these towns were attacked so quickly and so easily but what is known is that thousands lay dead today due to the actions of their fellow countrymen…."

**Click**

"Well that went better than expected I must say."

"That it did Sir. The agents within the mobs have all reported back in. The chemicals that you provided did just what they were supposed to. The agents say that they are ready for the next group of targets when and where you want it to happen."

"Begin moving our agitators to the bases within the IOA countries and ready them to cause some problems for Stargate command and their affiliates. After all, we don't want them to think that we've forgotten about them do we? Once they are in place have them go to ground until we contact them, they know what to do."

"Yes Sir."

_**Colonial Bone yards**_

_**Nova Madigon Shipyards**_

_**Colonial Space**_

The bone yards at the Nova Madigon was one of a number of massive fields of ships that had been decommissioned and set for scrap or for reactivation in case of war. With the founding of the colonies many of the vessels were transferred to a number of massive facilities constructed for the antiquated ships. It was only the Cylon war that had the majority of those ships re-commissioned and sent to the front lines, only the oldest and most decrepit ships were left behind.

Attrition and combat damage had wheedled down those numbers over three quarters. Each yard was all but emptied as cruisers, battleships, carriers; even the huge and unwieldy monitors, were pulled from mothballs and sent back out en masse into battle to back up the small but growing number of Battlestars being built by the colonies. They were brought online just as the war reached its absolute climax with the Battles of Caprica and Picon. Out of the hundreds of warships brought back online or built during that time very few survived to return to the reserves. As the war ended the fleet had been in a shambles, huge numbers of escorts and capital ships have been wrecked or crippled and left to rot in space. Pre-war and war era ships were commissioned en masse to make up the shortfall until the newer generations of Battlestars and other warships were completed.

By the time the next generation of ships came online the fleet had already rebuilt to an impressive scale as the paranoia of the war still reigned through the colonies. Confidence in the fleet began to wane forcing the older ships to decommission as damage or age caught up. Entire squadrons of escorts were decommissioned as Battlestars came online, yet more were broken up on the slipways or used as targets for the newer escort classes.

"I don't reckon these things have even been touched let alone powered up in frakking years."

"Well, the maintenance crews here are supposed to go over them once a year to check the ships are in working order; frak knows if they actually have been or not. Bring us along here, the original Hyperion should be behind those frigates and down a bit our target is a little further on"

"DRADIS scans are completely screwed as it is," the third of their team said. "Harry, you sure we got the right section."

"Yeah, according to the logs the damn thing's here somewhere, those are Calypso class frigates right?" the leader said.

"Your asking me? You're the expert around here I just break stuff."

"Alright, alright," the leader replied. "Those are Calypso class- those are Phalanx class missile cruisers; the Warstar should be right around here somewhere if those morons haven't messed up on the book keeping."

"Can't see it, loads of destroyers and cruiser but no… holy frak."

"What?"

"Over there behind the missile ships look."

"I can't see anything."

"Its right there, it was unmasked as we flew past the Calypsos."

"What are you…. ohh crap."

"I'm seeing that right aren't I?"

"You sure are mate," the Chief replied his eyes widening as he watched the behemoth slowly being revealed as they banked around the clusters of antiquated vessels. For years the older generations of warships had been fazed out until only the advanced or efficient ships were retained en masse within the fleet. As the newer ships had gone online the older ladies had been retired.

"Which one is she?"

"I don't know. She's Galactica class though probably the second production run during the war. All but the Galactica went down out of the originals. I thought the older Battlestars were all at the Cimtar anchorage."

"They obviously missed one, Chief can you bring us around let us see the nameplate?"

"Hell, yes."

The shuttle moved up closer to the massive hulk. Its spotlights raking the armoured hull concentrating on the closest landing pod, the nacelle-shaped bay was damaged from a number of massive asteroid impacts and what seemed to be wounds made by railgun and nuclear ordnance. A ragged tear started mid way down the pod right up to the nameplate; the nameplate itself was blackened from some kind of explosion that had the Colonial navy cut down the lady in her prime.

"Frak, she's one of the first."

"Chief?"

"She's one of the first twelve, the Prometheus. She was reported as lost in action about a light year or two from here then recovered by the Galactica and Hermes about five years after the war. Her FTL engines were blown and life support had been frakked by a nuke. They dragged her back here and left her to rot probably as a supply of spares for the remaining Galactica class and the follow on classes "

"Then why is she here and not with the rest of the Battlestars?"

"There's your answer." The Chief said pointing at the bow of the desolate spacecraft.

An entire chunk of the 'head' of the Battlestar was missing from the point of the bow right back to where the CIC would have been, the ragged metal showing where the hull had been blown open ripping the armoured structure off the hull bracing underneath. Burns and hole dotted the entire rest of the flank evidently where the massive railguns and missile launchers of the Cylon Base ships had broadsided the Colonial Vessel.

"What a mess."

"Why didn't they just strip her down and use her parts?"

"How the hell should I know? I've only just found out the damned thing's here. Hell of a shitter though… why didn't they let anyone know she was out here? People would have loved to have seen another of the twelve even one as banged up as this."

"With people like Adar Chief," the second man said. "You know better than that."

"Suppose so, but I doubt she's going anywhere except the salvage yard for the Galactica and the Rycon."

"So much for the scrapping of those old birds," the third replied. "Not if they're making us bring the rest of these antiques out."

"Alright enough sightseeing, we've got work to do although now we know the yard dogs have screwed up the locations of some of these ships. We might be several hundred kilometres from where we should be."

"Guys…."

"It says it should be here near those frigates though."

"Guys….."

"Boss there's nothing here except…." Prior's head was forcibly turned by his companion rapidly followed by the same figure pointing the Chief's head the same way. "Ok never mind."

The shuttlecraft rotated through ninety degrees, cutting underneath the derelict frigates into open space. Behind the constellation of escorts stretching around that section of the bone yards sat a massive ship. The behemoth loomed at them from the darkness, its bulk larger than anything built prior to the Mercury class or her very few variants. The heavy black armour pitted in places by the micro-meteorites and larger debris that inevitably hurtled through space slamming into the hull.

Every weapon and armour plate was still in place. The heavy cannons locked down and the point defence weapons stowed down or pulled into the hull. The viper tubes were still sealed a few with temporary patches where damage had been sustained by a few lucky hits from floating debris or battle wounds left over from the Cylon war.

"There she is."

"Frak that's a big ship, why the hell did they let her go."

"Too big for the 'New Fleet.' One of the morons in power about twenty years ago decided that the Battlestars were more than enough. They put these girls into mothballs and left them to rot. She's the only one left intact."

"Where's the rest of them?"

"Only four were ever built, one was blown apart at the last Battle of Cimtar. The others were crippled but it means we've got a decent supply of spares for this old girl. All we have to do is make sure that the engines and generators work and that she's safe to move. Prior, get in the back and tell the teams we're ready to dock. There's no atmosphere on board so we'll head for engineering and life support first."

"You always give me the greatest jobs boss," the second said disappearing out the back of the bridge.

"You know a lot about these old girls, don't ya boss?"

"You could say that Conoy. I really hate the way they treated the old girls and the veterans after the war. People didn't care what happened to our boys and girls as long as anything that made anyone think of the War was quietly swept away. Well not frakking likely as long as I'm around."

"You were born in the wrong time boss. You sound like you'd have loved being out there blowing the shit outta the tin cans."

"Damn right, and now I'm too damned old to join the fleet to make up the numbers killed by the idiots in charge."

"Come on Bossman, the Earth born bastards killed our people not our own side."

"Kid you have a lot to learn about life. The guys in charge sent that fleet for their own bloody gain not for any frakking righteous crusade. Adar's people are the ones that got our fleet killed not the Earthers. Hell those guys probably figured that they had as much right to life under their own laws." The Chief snarled. "Frak Adar, him and his ilk have been pissing on my home for generations and what do we get out of it. Frak all, if Sagittaron decided not to keep feeding Caprica, they'd go batshit insane and come and take the world by force even though we're all suppose to be 'equal'."

"Isn't that the point of the colonies? To be equal?"

"Where is it your from again, lad?"

"Caprica."

"Figures, kid you probably didn't see much of the crap that goes on out here but the Sags and the Leos get the rough end of the pole almost every time and now we're treated as second class citizens on our own planet. Years ago, there was the thinker, dunno his name but he said that 'all men are created equal'…"

"That's in the sacred scrolls though, all men and women are equal none shall be treated as unto the animals that graze or feed from the muck. Brothers and Sisters all stand together as one."

"Buncha shit, a greater thinker got it right. 'All of us are created equal in the eyes of the Gods, however some may be more equal than most.' and he ain't wrong, the big planets like Caprica and Picon are always nice and happy living off the work that the rest of us do. Do you know how many Sagitarron Battlestar Commanders there are kid?"

The younger man shook his head.

"Three. Three Sagittarons in over one hundred and twenty Battlestars and Warstars, and how many Capricans? Thirty seven including the Admiral of the fleet and two of the joint chiefs as well. There's been no Sag Admirals in twelve years either; even Aerilon has had at least one. Now they want to start rebuilding the fleet using the exact same rules as they have before and none of us will get any chance whatsoever. I'm willing to bet my entire pension that if you went for a pilot rank you'd have no problem, I'd have been kept down as a knuckle dragger."

"Cool down Chief, I should never have brought it up."

"No it's alright Conoy. I'm just kinda pissed off that they are only allowing Sags into the pilot and command ranks because the fleet's been blown apart. Even money says that as soon as enough of the upper class fraks of Caprica get out of their nappies and into their cockpits that the rest of the 'lesser' colonies will be pushed aside because of course we can't be anywhere near as good as the real warriors of the great colonies."

"And you know what else will happen, kid? Picon was a massive influence throughout the colonies as a whole. Now that the planet's been fragged to frak. The Picons will demand that they be helped by the other eleven colonies because it's their right. The fact that the destruction of one planet will send the rest of us into all kinds of crap because Picon kept a lot of their damn wealth and power to themselves screwing the rest of us.

"You right there Chief. The other Colonies are already feeling the hit. Combined with the mobilisation just how bad is it gonna be?"

"I was ten years old when the last war ended Conoy. I remember what it was like, the time after the war was rebuilding the fleet and increasing production, costs and gods know what else across the colonies and let me tell you something. After my dad was killed in the Cylon war we had to live on his pension and my mom's earnings. After the war, she lost her job to one of the fleet turds that 'had more experience'. Then after that they cut the pensions down again because they needed the money to rehouse the lost and homeless and to rebuild the fleet. They never put it back up again afterwards."

"More from the Peace party?"

"You got it, Kid. They figured rewarding the people that fought the war would give the wrong impression and so left the veterans with a pittance and a lot of the crippled and injured with almost nothing. I know that a lot of people went into the fleet to find their way but ended up confused and desperate. Hell, my best friend's daddy went and became a pirate to provide for his family. Poor bastard was fragged by a customs cruiser."

"Chief." Prior's voice popped up from behind interrupting the conversation. Looking at the red face of his boss and the passive face of the younger man he decided he didn't want to know. "All teams are set we just need to link up with that ship and we'll be all sorted to check the old girl over."

Wiping his face the Chief sat up. "Nice work, alright stations people we're gonna have to go for hard dock as the landing bays are still sealed. There should be a major umbilical point somewhere on the underside near the lower engine decks, right about here."

Directly above them a large armoured port could be seen flush with the hull of the vessel. The outer doors and docking clamps still unlocked from the last time the ship have been serviced. Approaching slowly, the upper side of the smaller vessel linked up with the hard docking system. Well maintained automated locking systems held the shuttle tight with the ship the airtight seal locking down and pressurising.

"As easy as Cylons in an airlock." The Chief said, "Let's get aboard and see if this girls even capable of being brought back."

The teams in the rear passenger compartment had already begun climbing out and into the Warstar. The hundred or so technicians and recalled fleet engineers were awaiting their orders from their commanding officer. Like many of the assembled personnel, the officers that were leading the groups had been recalled from retirement by the remains of fleet command to man and repair the ships that were as old as they were.

Many honourable and dishonourable discharges were being overturned and reactivation clauses brought into use to increase the numbers of soldiers needed desperately by the military. Even the Army and marine corps were losing personnel with any artillery or piloting experience to bring up the numbers in the naval force. It was believed by many of the surviving command that normal ground combat soldiers would be much easier to train in numbers than the specialised naval experts needed to run the battle fleets.

All of the technicians were clad in versions of the ubiquitous fleet pressure suits to protect against the lack of atmosphere or from floating debris. Pushing out from the hatchway each floated towards the inner hull the last of the personnel locking the inner and outer doors shut.

"Listen up. Team Beta there should be the emergency depressurisation system on the deck above, starboard section G-9. Activate the gravity systems then the heating, then the atmospherics, and let us know before you start I don't want anyone hurt because they were still floating when the gravity goes back on," the Chief told them. "Teams Alpha and Gamma head for the secondary command center, the rest of you know your jobs. Let's get this bucket up and running."

"What about fuel? This thing shouldn't have anything left in the tanks."

"They left enough in here after the last start up and maintenance for another one. Once she's up and running they'll send in the experts we're just here to see if she's spaceworthy. Ok people, lets move."

A chorus of Ayes and affirmatives came over the radio as the teams began to split up heading throughout the rear section of the kilometre and a half long ship, each team heading directly for their assigned section leaving the three command crew of the shuttle behind.

"So what are we here for boss?" Conoy asked.

"We're going to the landing bays and see if there's anything in there. If so we might have to rip 'em out and start again, if not then it's a simple check later."

"You just want to see the old birds don't you Chief," Prior Smirked.

"Maybe Prior, Maybe."

_**Briefing Room**_

_**Homeworld Security Building**_

_**Washington DC**_

"Alright Felger you've got ten minutes. Make this good."

"General O'Neill good to see you again, we…we've come up with a suggestion on how to increase our stocks of materials to build up the fleet. Going through the records of the SGC we've been trying to find anywhere that a large amount of minerals might be found... well since Motherlode was tapped by the Air Force the Naquada supply will begin flowing soon enough. We however have an idea of how to gain a massive trinium deposit relatively quickly."

"For once Felger you have me interested me. Where in the records have you found this 'supply'?"

Tapping on a computer tablet the wireless connection between it and the main screen began to link up, the screen changed from its usual blank screen to a complicated and vaguely familiar diagram of a planet several areas were shaded in silver or black. A string of gate co-ordinates came up beside the diagram pulling on a half forgotten memory of Jack's annoying him thoroughly.

"That's kind of the only real problem; the planet itself is in unclaimed space but is a known target for scavengers and pirates in this area of the galaxy. The trinium itself isn't just an ore or buried in the planet's crust but a lot of more refined metals are on the surface."

"The only way to do that is for that planet to have been heavily mined and the refined metals used for construction…." The thought came unstuck and the memory entered the forefront of his mind. "This better not be what I think it is, Felger."

"Well, sir it's a lot of refined metals almost perfect for construction of the ships and fighters we need to defend Earth. The buried ores can still be mined using the facilities that may still exist or we do it ourselves. Either way General, we can easily get the materials we need; it's just a bit icky."

"Really?"

"The only other way would be a lucky strike, Sir. Trinium in the areas we control is getting rarer as we excavate it." Felgar's enthusiasm began overriding his nervousness. "We know there are hundreds of thousands maybe millions of tons of refined trinium on the surface of Tollana enough to supply the shipyards for the next build of 302s and Daedalus class."

"What he means, General," Felger's assistant Chloe spoke up for the first time. "There is a way of sorting the material out quickly, but it will mean removing one of our ships from the defence or borrowing a ship from the Asgard. Access to any Asgard transporter equipment will allow us to filter out the trinium from anything else and then we can bring it back home and refine it here like we've been doing with the ore."

"Felgar, you may be a right royal pain in the ass but you're quite right. It is a perfect place to gather trinium and other resources. The idea was brought up several times in the last few years but we've had no way to get to the resources they have there without a ship. Now we're even more reliant on our ships to stay right here and without a stargate, Tollana is a remote planet for anyone to get to."

"But…"

"But?"

"There's another reason for the trip to Tollana General. Their technology was centuries ahead of us. There's all kinds of things we might be able to figure out from the debris left behind. We might even be able to replicate their phase technology now maybe even their weapons," Felger reiterated. "Stuff for ships, for planetary defences anything we can put them on."

"Ion cannons? Haven't you already got the technical stuff for that from before Anubis nuked their planet?"

"Yes Sir, we have but. It's always easier to reverse engineer equipment if you've got a copy of the actual technology to hand..."

"You have no idea how to build them do you," O'Neill surmised.

"Well we have the schematics, a working knowledge of the theory behind the frequency nullification and energy boosting properties of the ion cannon's main…"

"You have no idea how to build it," O'Neill repeated.

"In a word… No."

"That's all I wanted to hear. Alright I've been making deals all day with people what's one more? If, and I reiterate, IF Colonel Davis' conference with the Jaffa is successful, I'll send one of the new ships to Tollana for a scan and recon. And then – IF its successful – I'll consider an expedition to gather resources. Once we get a stargate up and running again, then we'll send people through, but until then no go. I need your people doing their jobs and upgrading our warships as quickly as possible Understood." It wasn't a question.

"Yes Sir we understand, a request however, Sir."

"Go on."

"The main weapons of some of the Colonial ships were rail guns. We can't get the new weapons past the three inch calibre stage. We'd like access to a few of their heavier guns to see how they've managed to address the problems we're having. We've got a list of the types we need to have a look at if and when the Air Force can get them down to us..."

"If it's weapons-base, the Air Force will probably be bringing pieces down once we can separate them from the debris. We're kinda occupied with finding places to treat the survivors of the last attack on both us and the Colonial ships in system. I will try to get you what you need, but no promises."

"Thank you General that is appreciated." Felger knew he would get very little else out of the General and as such he ushered the group out of the room with a goodbye to O'Neill. Jack was already exhausted from the very long day. So far and he still had several meetings to go to including one with the President himself to inform the Commander-in-Chief of the status of the defences that were being erected across the planet and in local space.

"General?"

Looking up, Jack saw one of his attachés standing in the doorway and he gestured to the Captain to come in. The young woman looked hesitant and upset as she approached putting Jack's senses on alert.

"Captain."

"Sir a message just came through from the United Nations building in New York… Sir, you're to report to the United Nations Security Council within a week to answer the charges being brought against you at The Hague.

Slumping back Jack rubbed his tired eyes and looked up at the junior officer.

"This day just gets better. Contact the White House, I think we need my meeting to be brought forward a few hours. This is going to be a very, very long day."

_**Unknown Location**_

_**Unknown Time**_

The young woman gasped as her head broke the surface of the water, desperately needed air filled her lungs as the feeling of near drowning began to fade from her mind. Two pairs of hands grabbed her shoulders holding her in place and helping her to stay upright in the liquid, looking around she looked into the face of a darker skinned woman and a pair of eyes exactly like her own.

"Easy little sister, easy" the blonde woman said. "It's okay. You're safe amongst family now."

"Where… where am I?" The other woman croaked. "Who… who are you?"

The olive skinned woman leaned over and removed some of the wires and cables that were attached to her body, wires she could feel attached to her head, spine and a number of other critical points. The needles and cable ends were pulled out with care as the blonde helped the confused woman from what she could only describe as a pod of some kind.

"It's ok, it's ok. We're not here to hurt you. Give yourself a few minutes and you'll begin to remember what happened."

"I… there was an explosion… I don't know."

"It's ok, just breath deeply and relax everything will come back to you. It's always difficult the first time."

"The first time?"

"Yeah the first time."

Images of her life flashed through the exhausted woman's mind as she calmed down enough to think, the flash of light as her ship exploded around her vaporizing her body in the fire of a massive nuclear detonation. Then a feeling of weightlessness for a second or so, the choking feeling and pain as she downloaded into the body overtaking her senses totally as she tried to understand just what was going on.

Downloaded? she thought.

"I'm a Cylon. Oh frak, I'm a Cylon!"

"Good it's all coming back. Give yourself a few minutes; the shock will wear off as your real memories take precedent over the others. We need to know what happened to the fleet the Colonials sent out, we know when it went but we don't know why and where they attacked."

"What… no I don't believe you. Get off of me! Whatever it is your trying to pull here won't work with me."

"Calm down, it's alright. We're family."

"GET THE FRAK OFF ME!"

"It's alright." The blonde woman struggled to hold down the other woman, the burst of strength that the adrenaline rush had given the Colonial officer dying down as she was held by the two unknown people. "It's alright, you'll be ok just rest then you can tell us what you need to."

"I… I can't…." The blonde woman looked down at her. "Foreman, Marcie, Lt Colonial Fleet, See Eff Two Nine Nine Six Four Seven Nine Seven."

"I was afraid of this," the woman with the almond shaped eyes spoke. "Her primary personality wasn't fully downloaded with the rest. The cover is still taking precedence over the actual identity."

"Then the reports coming from the agents within the colonies were correct." The olive skinned woman looked at her companion. "There is something to the Tau'ri weapons above and beyond that of simple nuclear materials. This could be a significant problem for all of us."

"So it seems." The unfamiliar woman looked at Marcie. "We really aren't here to hurt you. We'll leave you to get used to your surroundings. The centurions will watch over you make sure that you will be ok."

"Foreman, Marcie, Lt Colonial Fleet, See Eff Two Nine Nine Six Four Seven Nine Seven."

Outside the enclosed room several dozen of the humanoid Cylons were gathered in conference. Seven of the twelve models were in evidence most sitting within their own groups with very few even interacting with the other models. The entire group was watching the repeating signal broadcast throughout the colonies. President Adar's speech and the reactions of the Colonials to the actions of their human brethren had been amusing to the assembled beings.

The speech was running through the link for the third time as the humanoids rechecked the video feed, translating the subtext of the President's words, and the movement of his body as he continued his rhetoric.

"He's lying," a number three said. "The Tau'ri didn't attack them in any way and he's really afraid that he'll be caught in his own lies."

A Cavil spoke up. "He is a politician, D'anna. He is also human; therefore anything he says and does is suspect. He is also very well enamored with the trappings that go with his rank within the human society. Evidence of his excesses has been found by our agents within Caprica City, which has also given us an advantage that we had originally considered as secondary at best."

"Our sister has managed to ingratiate herself into the confidence of Doctor Baltar, one of the Colonial's brightest computer experts. It seems that one of Adar's ploys was to have a program added to the networks of the entire Colonial fleet in order to standardize the computers and to increase their response times in combat," one of the sixes explained. "Once the programming begins on the new system we shall have one of our agents begin modifying the codes within the program."

"This is however a problem for us," a Simon model announced. "The attack on the Tau'ri was fortuitous in that a large section of their front line units and many of their veteran commanders were killed in battle. A number were destroyed in the counterstrike by the Tau'ri at Picon. We estimate at least a quarter of the Colonial's total war fleet was destroyed in these two actions."

Beside him, another of his type commented. "This would have been useful perhaps a year or so from now. The Colonial fleet would have been unaware of us and if they had taken the losses we have seen this far then we may have had the chance we needed. As it is our own forces are not ready and we are not even close to being prepared to take on the Colonial fleet and subjugate their worlds."

"Then we wait," a Cavil said. "We wait for the program to be installed. The losses they will take against an enemy as powerful as this Tau'ri will means that they will try to find better and more effective ways to fight their new enemies. This will mean that we will be more than ready when the time comes to take them on."

"What about the Tau'ri?" one of the Number Threes asked.

"We shall deal with them when the time comes."

"That is not what I meant," Three scowled. "The Tau'ri, if they are this thirteenth tribe, could be an answer to something we were looking for. The majority of our technology is far in advance of the humans as we know them. But the technology that these new humans have outstrips any of ours. Defense wise, they can easily take any firepower our limited fleet can supply. Their weapons likewise can destroy us with as much ease as they did the Colonials. In addition, they now have access to the Colonial's best weapons and equipment. Granted, they are not as advanced as our own but in the numbers deployed they will easily overwhelm our own vessels. In addition our knowledge of Tau'ri's fighter strength and deployment is lacking."

"Then what is your suggestion?" asked the Simon.

"I suggest that we approach the Tau'ri and meet them face to face. While we do not have any great information on their abilities, we do have records of the original meetings between the Tau'ri Ship Prometheus and the Battlestar Group. Their scans would quite possibly pick up our ships and destroy any attempt at landing agents within seconds."

"I do have to agree with our sisters," Number eight said. "As much as we wish to remove the Colonials from their worlds. We have to understand that there are more humans out there now than we thought."

"Then we do the same as we are doing here, infiltrate and remove them from consideration as quickly as possible," Cavil snarked. "The second we decide to attack the colonies the humans will band together as they did in the first war. Their hatred of each other will be simply set aside until they destroy us. I think we have to set back our attack plans for a while. The Colonial build up will affect both our ability to break their systems and to take down their fleet. Until we have the numbers to remove any chance of a possible counterattack against both the newer ships and those that are being returned to service, we do not attack."

"Well no help will come from our sister," A number six walked through the door.

"Did the transfer succeed?" asked a Number Three.

"To an extent yes. The weapons these Tau'ri used to destroy the Picon Anchorage are formidable. Whatever it is they use to create these weapons are a danger to our agents within the colonies," The Six responded. "The human template is intact in her mind as are the memories of both her times as a human and as a Cylon; however sections of her original mind and the program that switches between the two personalities were erased completely from the download. It seems almost a third of her mind didn't make it through the interference caused by the Tau'ri weaponry."

"Then they know of the sciences behind our ability to continue on after death," a number five replied. "This could pose a problem whether we wish to fight the Tau'ri or not. If they can corrupt our data streams then we will lose any conflict that may happen between us and the humans."

A Number Eight did not look convinced on this course of action. Sitting well towards the back she mused as the conversation went back and forth. Information from her sisters in the colonies had already pointed towards a massive mobilization of ships and equipment they couldn't hack.

"If that is so then I think we need to talk to the Tau'ri, not to fear them. They are not the same people as the Colonials are. Remember that it was on the orders of Adar that the fleet attacked." She moved to the center of the congregation. "The Earth humans took more losses in one strike on their surface than we did in the entire war. They replied with a strike just as we would to anyone that breached our borders from their side. The Colonials took a bigger hit from that one attack on Picon that we did when we attacked any of the colonies themselves. For now we're the smaller threat to either of them and we need to keep it this way."

"You are too soft on the humans Sharon," Cavil Sneered. "Too much like your other sisters, let us just hope that you don't go the same way as the others that turned against their brothers and sisters. The humans are the same on every world they have inhabited. I find it highly unlikely that the humans are any different even on the other side of the spiral arm."

"Like all Cylons are the same, Cavil?"

"Precisely."

"Strange. I thought we were different models, human like and robot, centurion and raider. You consider yourself the same as the mindless drone that repairs and sanitizes our ships and homes then?"

"What I…"

"I'm as loyal to the ideals of our peoples as anyone, can you say the same?"

Cavil was apoplectic at Sharon's words. It was well known that some of the Cylon types were all for the total destruction of the colonies and every human there was. Others opposed it for the simple reason that they believed they were better than the humans and should not follow the examples set by the Colonials. Both sides were at an uneasy détente at this point due to the actions of the Tau'ri.

"Enough," A Number Three said. "What is the status of the survivors?"

"We confirmed four agents on the Picon station and the ships in the area. Only one made it back through the interference we found with the radiation or whatever it is in the area. We wish for a consensus."

"You mean to box her," Three said.

"Yes, we do box her and remove the Cylon from the human memory and try to bring our sister back. If we are unsuccessful we will decompile her code to discover what we need to about what the truth was during their attack on Earth. We agree with Eight that this is a world that needs watching and possibly contacting their leaders if only to have them stay away from us."

"We agree with boxing her until our sister can be brought back," Three spoke. "However approaching the humans on Earth will not go ahead until such time as we can be sure that we will not become targets purely because of who and what we are."

"We agree," said the Eights.

"As do we," spoke the Doral model. "We do not need any more problems than we already have."

"Well it's four to three in any way, but we do also agree," said the Simon.

"Cavil?"

"I think this is still a mistake, so no. 'We' do not do either, and you and I both know that without a consensus that we will go no further with this foolishness. If our sister has been corrupted then remove her from the resurrection net. We have more than enough time to infiltrate more agents into the Colonial fleet. The losses we have had mean little compared to what we can do."

"You really are a total bastard." Six said. "We will not simply kill our sister any more than one of us would kill any other Cylon, no matter the provocation that might be given."

"Your sister is a danger to this assembly now. She will consider herself first and foremost a Colonial soldier. If she somehow manages to escape from this ship then we may as well give up and run because they will come after us," Cavil replied. "Not one of our ships can take on even the oldest Battlestars if they decide to come for us. That's the entire reason behind our infiltration of the colonies."

"Considering, she has no access to the databases, nor has any idea how to move around this ship let alone escape. We will not kill one of our own. We are not like the humans as you remind us at every opportunity Cavil. Our sister is damaged and we owe it to her to bring back the woman she was and is."

"I see that logic will not overcome your emotional attachment to your indisposed other. I will leave but understand this if your actions here endanger our mission then I will have no problem in boxing your entire type and removing them from the resurrection net," Cavil growled as he faced the Sixes. "We may not be human but we sure as hell can die like they do remember that."

Barging through the assembled sixes the Cavil model stormed out of the door ignoring the stares that came from the other models. The Six that he had insulted forced herself to calm down as she turned to the rest of the versions of the various models that made up their ad-hoc quorum. The Eight that had been watching turned to the model beside her.

"What was up with him?"

"He's just found out he's being assigned to the Colonial fleet infiltration," an identical Cavil said. "They are sticking him on board the Battlestar Galactica. He's afraid that if we get discovered he's going to get it especially if his ship gets ordered out into the fighting."

"The Sixes' news that they can scramble the uploads can't have made him feel any better about it," Eight said. "You don't seem overly worried about this though."

"Why should I be? Not all of my model is as anti-Colonial as my brother is. Most are but there are always differences between members of each model. After all, we were designed to be individuals as well as a whole, weren't we?"

Eight smiled. "Next you'll be telling me you believe in God and his entire plan for us all."

He grinned back. "I wouldn't go that far child, but you never know, you never know."


	8. Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven

_**Warstar Agamemnon**_

_**Helios Class Warstar**_

_**Caprica Orbit**_

The last of the fleet's active and intact Warstars, the Agamemnon had been seconded to the Caprican defense force on the direct orders of President Adar. Losses taken by the Colonial fleet from the single warship that had penetrated the outer defense lines had caused the populace at large to demand that the defenses of their worlds be upgraded at all costs.

Adar had been forced to appease them by deploying much of the remaining Battlestar strength to the eleven remaining world of the Colonies. In turn, this had hurt the evacuation efforts and the border patrols immensely, forcing the second tier training ships to take up the bulk of the defense patrols. Half completed or ships under shakedown were being rapidly completed to fill out the fleet until they could reactivate the mothball fleets.

Caprica's own defenses were as formidable as those that had surrounded Picon had been. The stations and weapons satellites orbiting the planet were armed and operational scanning the area with DRADIS hoping to stop the same thing happening to Caprica as had happened to their sister world. Flashes of light heralded the arrival or departure of Colonial warships on point to point patrols between the innermost colonies, something that the Naval command had insisted could allow them to cover more space with enough ships to hopefully make a dent in any attack that the Tau'ri could make.

Agamemnon sat docked to Caprica's major military command station in orbit of the planet. Her guard ships and escorts were orbiting the planet in overlapping groups weapons armed and pods deployed on the older ships. Raptor and Viper flight launches and landings were almost continuous as the patrols rotated between the warships and the ground bases.

"Admiral, President Adar wants you on the station as soon as possible," spoke Captain Keane spoke to his CO, "something to do with the deployment of our ships."

"Great more from that man." Commander Harkness looked at his Comms officer. "Let them know I'm on my way down."

"Yes, Sir."

"Problem, David?"

The Admiral looked at his younger exec and shook his head. "No, Oliver not that bad. I've just been getting demands and requests and gods knows what else from the senate and the President's office trying to override my orders from the joint chiefs. Looks like Adar wants to do it face to face, no matter what I want to do about it."

"Do you want me with you, Sir?"

"Yes if you don't mind. Maybe we can talk this idiot out of concentrating all our forces in one area."

"Aye, Sir. Major you have Command."

"I have Command. Good luck, Sirs," the second officer said.

Leaving the CIC the two senior officers left the ship via the docked umbilicals. The Warstar was still undergoing emergency upgrades and resupply to allow her to continue as the Battle group's command ship. Looking out across the massive station they could see a dozen other ships under resupply from the command station, tankers and containment ships coming and going to the other ships in the area. With the loss of Picon Anchorage and its vast support base, the other fleet command station at Caprica, Cimtar and Sagittaron were almost overwhelmed by the remaining fleet ships.

Worse yet was the fact that support and warships from the failed attack on Earth were still dribbling back piecemeal. With the massed surviving fleet only a few days away, the shipyards and anchorages were being manned and resupplied as fast as was possible. The obsolete and in many cases totally abandoned fleet support stations were being forced back into service to cope with the overflow of mothballed ships and Battlestar Groups recalled back to home.

All traffic within close range of Caprica had been reduced to the necessary military transport and the imports that Caprica needed to continue feeding and supporting its population. The usually busy and clogged space around the Planet was now virtually empty. Now, large numbers of military ships, an uncommon sight in this day and age, took the civilian ships places, something unthinkable only weeks ago.

A cough from his side interrupted Harkness' train of thought and his executive officer managed to cease his coughing fit. The other man shook his head in an attempt to clear the cobwebs from his mind.

"Oliver?"

"It's nothing Sir maybe a cold. I'll be fine."

"When we get back see the CMO I can't afford for my Exec to be out of action at this point."

"I'm fine, Sir."

"That is as maybe Colonel, but I'll make it an order if I have to."

"Very we'll Sir, as soon as we get back."

"Alright, any reports from the clean up at Picon?"

"Not much Sir," the man coughed again. "The evacuation has taken off almost a third of the remaining population but the radiation is reaching saturation levels. We won't get more than half the survivors before it's too late to help them. In all we're looking a full half of the Picon population as casualties of the raid."

"Gods above, that's insane."

"Yes Sir it is. Thing is from what I've seen of the reports and footage, these casualties are a side effect of their true target."

"The Anchorage."

"Yes Sir, if they had wanted any of the colonies dead they could have nuked it from close range and we couldn't have done a thing. Instead they blew apart the Anchorage and vaporized the biggest supply station in the twelve worlds. It's just an unfortunate side effect of their attack. We will have half of the planet's civilization saved, sir. It's just a matter of time and where to put them." The Exec continued. "They found the CAG's body this morning hanging from the launch tube for his fighter."

"Frak."

"Yes Sir, he got the news this morning no survivors from his home at all."

"Who can we put in his place?"

"Captain James seems a good seasoned pilot. She's capable of replacing the major if we need her to."

"Alright I'll sign off the paperwork when we get back. Inform Command we'll need a number of new pilots as it is."

"Sir."

The doors to the command center opened before the two men. Like many of the command stations both aboard warships and space stations the huge construction was circular with multiple tiers. The centerpiece of the room was a massive column of DRADIS screen and plotting charts, every square mile of the surrounding space of Caprica being constantly monitored by the on duty personnel. Walking into the room the two men passed through the bustling crewmen, technicians and officers both rewiring and installing more efficient and updated equipment designed solely for pinpoint accuracy for the station's weapons. Forcing their way through the throng the officers managed to finally make their way to the Commander's offices at the far end of the CIC.

"Ahh Gentlemen, come in." Admiral Anderson motioned to the chairs in front of his desk, "The President has been held up temporarily but he should be with us within a few minutes."

"Nothing bad I hope, Sir," Colonel Moxton said.

"Nothing too bad Colonel. There seems to be a slight bug running around the President's mansion. He'll be with us soon."

"Any ideas what this is all about, Sir?" Harkness asked.

"The President wants an update on the defenses of the inner colonies. He also wants the Command staffs of the five fleets to draw up plans to amalgamate the older ships being brought back into service due to the losses we've been taking."

The conversation ceased as Adar made his way into the room through the main doors of the command center, the man looked out of breath and disheveled as he walked in. He didn't seem amused at the problems he had faced simply trying to get to the station that day. Smoothing down his clothes the President took a seat at the round table that the three men were sitting at.

"My apologies gentlemen my usual pilot seems to be slightly under the weather. Some cold has knocked out about half of my people including the Vice President himself so I'm a little snowed under what with the war and the demonstrations that seem to have sprung all over the place." Adar pulled out a few folders and turned to the officer. "Alright then I assume Admiral Anderson has informed you of why I wanted you both here. The defensive state of the colonies has been very lax over the last few years. The disaster at Picon has just made it more than evident. Picon's defenses were the best we had over any of the worlds in the system and yet they were unprepared and unable to fight off the attack from ONE warship."

Opening up the folder the pictures inside were gun camera stills from the fighters that intercepted the squadrons launched from the Tau'ri ship. The files also contained debriefing from the pilots of the intercept squadrons as they explained what they had seen and how powerful the other fighters had been.

"Their fighters and capital managed to get within striking distance of the station and launch in excess of forty nuclear missiles, most of which hit Picon Anchorage. The point defenses should have taken down most of them before they got close even if they managed to jump in that close to our defenses. In addition not one missile satellite or Heavy Cannon fortification was fired during the attack! What is the point of paying for all this over the last fifty years and then having most of them destroyed before they decide to fire?"

"Of course then there's the fact that only one squadron got off the anchorage and support bases before they went up. Isn't it common practice to have several squadrons on standby around this planet? Or those combat air patrols you're funding requested as necessary defense of our worlds? Thousands of fighters on the planet's surface and not one launched before those Earth bastards had killed hundreds of thousands of our people and destroyed the biggest shipyard and storage facility we have."

"The enemy ship dropped from whatever hyperlight speed they seem to have directly in front of the station."

"Apparently, there's a lot you don't know," Adar snipped. "Continue."

"We didn't know they would be able to jump in so close so fast and launch as they did. The majority of the guns weren't able to depress quickly enough to fire on the enemy vessel. The combat air patrols had been in position as usual in normal patrol patterns, however the enemy managed to jump out before the vipers could make it into range of the main ships. However we do know that a number of fighters were brought down," Anderson announced. "We've managed to salvage a number of wrecks partially intact. The parts are secreted at a classified location."

"Well at least you got something right. What about the defenses of Caprica and the other planets?"

"After the last war all the planets had their defenses upgraded. Since then the majority of the planets have been reinforced time and again especially Picon, Sgaittaron and Caprica itself. Others are not as heavily defended due to the lesser population ratio compared to the more industrial planets. To make up any shortfalls all surviving defenses stations and satellites from Picon are being towed away and into orbit around the other planets including what's left of the orbital shipyards. They missed the yards on the other side of the planet. It'll be towed to Ragnar Anchorage."

"The Tau'ri have access to all our records Admiral," said Colonel Moxton. "They would know the location of every station and shipyard we have. Putting any of the remaining shipyards in a remote place will make it more difficult to protect both with orbital defenses and with warships."

"We have advantage that we know that FTL can't be plotted inside the nebula surrounding the Anchorage. There is only one way in and out of the cloud and that can be mined and patrolled easily. However the joint chiefs have decided that it is prudent to move Ragnar further into the cloud hopefully out of range of their scans within the cloud cover," Anderson replied. "This is one of the reasons the two of you have been recalled, the Agamemnon is being reassign to command the third fleet. The third will be dispatched to provide a roving defense force. The second someone calls for help you move. Your command station will be the Sagittarian shipyards encompassing the leading edge of the Cimtar range and Ragnar nebula."

"What about the First fleet?"

"The First fleet will be under the command of Admiral Henderson when she arrives back from border patrol within the next week. Until then you will continue in command of the fleet. The newest of the Warstars will be commissioned within the week so she'll take your place as command ship for the First fleet," Anderson replied.

"I hope that your protection of our shipyards and command stations will be more capable that those officers that came before you Admiral," Adar told him. "I have been reliably informed that the larger main guns of the Warstars and the newer high velocity orbital guns should be of use against the Tau'ri ships but the nuclear weapons we have in use are worse than useless. They're incapable of doing any particular damage to their ships even under massive bombardment from multiple strikes. This includes the larger planetary missiles that I was told had been removed from the ships we sent."

Anderson looked unabashed at the chiding from the President. The planet buster weapons had been developed long after the Cylon was as the ultimate deterrents to their robotic enemies. People like Adar had deemed them too expensive and too much of a white elephant due to the total lack of Cylon sightings over the decades. Production of the missiles had ended as a budget cut forced several of the more advanced and expensive projects to be mothballed.

The remaining missiles still in service were concentrated into a few select tactical groups whose entire reason for existing was the bombardment of the enemy positions. The hundred megaton nukes would hopefully erase swarms of fighters and escorts as well as critically damage the massive hourglass shaped warships. A vast majority of those nukes had been deployed with the fleet against Earth.

"As we explained Mr. President, we knew of their shielding technology and we thought that a number of the heavier nukes could cripple whatever defenses they would be able to gather. We had no idea that their shielding technology could have so improved since our first meeting. The majority of the weapons had been used by the time the fleet retreated…"

"But I'm going to assume a number of our bigger missiles managed to make their way into the hands of our enemies." Adar snarked.

"Yes Sir, we know at least one missile cruiser was almost intact as were the Warstars. The fact they now have a working knowledge of every system in virtually every ship we have puts us at a chronic disadvantage against the Tau'ri, especially if they learn how to hack our systems," Anderson continued. "Depending on how many of our systems they can decipher, we're looking at a full compromise of our information and command systems. This will put as at a hell of a disadvantage, at least as bad as we had against the Cylons in the first war."

"I thought that is what the tender for the new command program was for Sir?" Harkness asked.

"The command program is already under construction as we speak." Adar smirked. "It'll still be a while until we can get it up and running, at least long enough for us to increase anti viral protection on our warships. The people building it have my utmost support and I am sure that it'll be more than enough to make the Tau'ri think twice about trying to hack into our systems."

The military commanders looked at each other with a wary eye. The belief that they could easily hold out against the Cylons in the electronic warfare department had led to thousands of deaths and dozens of ships lost during the first war. The quickly accomplished refit of the surviving Battlestars had held the line as the rest of the fleet had begun the backwards engineering needed to fight against the Cylons on an equal level.

Many of the upper hierarchy of the forces had fought against the introduction of the integrated networks and the programs that ran them. While firewalls and other system defenses were extremely advanced even for Colonial warships they could still be hacked by a good programmer or possibly an enemy AI.

"I don't have the kind of faith in this project as you do Mr. President," Anderson said. "As much as the computer technology aboard our ships have increased, the Cylons are still an artificial race and should find it relatively easy to hack our systems if we network everything together as some have been advocating."

"Our very best people are working on the situation Admiral," Adar remarked. We will have a Cylon-proofed system in place and as you said, it will be more than necessary once the Tau'ri begin to reverse engineer our own programming."

"In order to be as advanced as they seem to be with their warships, their computers must be more advanced than ours. Therefore we need to meet them on an equal playing field. So we can't be frightened of computer upgrades and technology as we have been."

"Sir the Cylons…"

"Haven't been seen in forty years, for all we know they've long since gone elsewhere."

Anderson shook his head and tried to retort the President's opinions of the Cylon problems. The man had barely been a child during the war and had never even served within the armed forces. The opinion of many of the brass at the actions of the current government and their yes men within the admiralty had been greatly lessened by these types of actions.

The system had caused all sorts of problems aboard the older ships that hadn't been built for networking. This had led to the decommissioning of many of the older classes of Battlestars and escorts supposedly earmarked for upgrades and construction of the newest ships. The majority of the money had been stripped from the budget for some of the cabinet's plans for upgrading the public utilities and other necessary functions classified by the offices of the President. Limited networking and the use of this new program had been agreed to just to get the latest group of Mercury class ships completed.

"This program was agreed to and it will go ahead Admiral with or without your co-operations is that understood." It was not a question.

"Perfectly Sir under my misgiving about both the program and the people creating it."

"Doctor Baltar's team is the best in the field and I have complete faith in them. Now what about the reactivation of the ships in the scrap yards...?"

_**Picon Surface**_

_**Underground Bunker**_

_**Medical Section**_

"Gods damn it, put him in isolation section six."

"Doctor, we've got another three found unconscious."

"Iso sections seven, eight and nine."

The infirmary was bustling as medics, nurses and orderlies moved back and forth. Hundreds of bodies were taking up every bit of space that could be cleared and sterilized. The attempts at triage had long since been abandoned by the pure numbers of personnel being brought in. Medical staff were being pulled in from the ships in orbit whenever possible and other rotated out, but they were exhausted beyond measure. The worst however had only just begun to come in.

Members of the Colonial fleet that had been brought down to assist with the evacuation of headquarters had begun to come in with symptoms that seemed to be an aggressive form of the common cold. Eighteen more cases had come in just that morning and they had been forced to increase the number of people in each isolation ward as well as sealing a number of store rooms as more came in.

"Doctor."

"What?" Cottle snapped

"You might want to see this."

"I'm busy."

"It's one of the first people brought in with the virus."

That got his attention.

The first people had been brought in only a day or so after the stack on the station. Radiation poisoning had been their first thought, but his illness hadn't abated from the anti-radiation drugs they had been giving the survivors. Tests given for radiation poisoning had come up negative. There was no reason for the illness to be spreading so quickly so far.

The original isolation rooms had been filled long ago with the bodies of the sick, a half dozen or more per room where only three or four should have been in each. Isolation room One had the original cases of this mystery illness. It was also where they would find out what might be happening to their soldiers.

"What happened?" Cottle asked the nurse as they entered the sealed doorways between the rooms. The pressure equalized with the sterile room on the other side airlock opening and pulling everything into the other room.

"One of them went in a coma about twelve hours ago, the other five at different times over the last few hours. The first case died about thirty minutes ago and the others are experiencing the same symptoms with breathing. Their lungs are filled with fluid."

"Ten minutes? What took so frakking long to tell me?"

"We spent the time trying to resuscitate him, but we weren't able to bring him back. Whatever this thing is it's killing these men slowly and it's spreading." Another voice announced coming from the side. "I've just been informed, there's been over ninety separate cases across the planet and on the ships in orbit. Most of the deceased have died in the last day or so, the others are on their way out."

"Doctor Wilker." Cottle nodded to the woman. "What do you think it is we're looking at?"

"To be honest Frank, I haven't got a frakking clue what the hell it is. It has all the hallmarks of the common cold and then it seems to mutate and attack on a different level. We've tried all kinds of meds and some seem to alleviate the symptoms but none have stopped the actual virus. We've begun cordoning off the areas we find these cases."

"Any idea how it's transmitted yet?" Cottle asked.

"Airborne as far as we can tell. Transmission is not liquid or food-based. The people with the virus haven't come into contact with each other. In other words we know frak all about it and how to stop people coming down with it. What's more, we don't know where it came from, how it got here and what the hell we can do to stop it."

"Some kind of mutation from the radiation blast? Maybe an old virus churned up by the impacts of the orbiting debris? Frak maybe it's our own people getting in on the biowarfare side of things and the storage facility was blown to hell. It wouldn't surprise me in the slightest."

"Me neither, except for one thing."

"What?"

"Half of these men have been in a locked down, sealed environment since the attack. There's no way the virus could have got in. No one can get in or out unless they have a hell of a security clearance hidden up their ass."

"So it is possible that it got in that way, especially during an orbital bombard alert."

The room shook slightly as another piece of debris from the orbiting cloud hit close by on the surface. The bunker was deep but the kinetic impacts of even the smallest of pieces were causing damage to the surrounding area. Pieces missed by the guns of the Battlestars and their fighters pelting the ground. The surface would not be able to take much more without the planet's crust started to erupt.

"That one was close," Cottle said. "If one that size hits us direct on we're not going to be doing anything much again."

Another hit shook the area this one much further away than the last. The bunker's shock absorbers managed to hold the construct on an even keel with the shaking ground.

"Nurse."

"Sir?"

"Get up to the command center and tell them that the bunker won't hold out for too much longer. We need an evac for the normal patients and a biohazard evac for these patients. We've been here long enough," Cottle said.

"Yes Sir."

"What do we do with this body?" Wilker asked.

"We'll have enough bodies to work on if this virus keeps hitting. We'll leave any dead behind and concentrate on those we can keep alive. But if I'm right then this thing has already left Picon and we are in some serious frak."

_**Classified POW Camp**_

_**Nevada Desert**_

_**United States**_

The familiar flash of light disappeared as the transported dropped its passengers into the room. The POW camp had been built quickly by the corps of engineers specifically to keep some of the more sensitive prisoners well away from the population at large both Earth born and Colonial.

"So how did Jack persuade you to do this?"

"He merely explained that it may be prudent to have someone on hand to assist with the interrogation of the prisoner."

"In other words, you were finished on Dakara and Jack wanted you to keep an eye on me in case something untoward happens when I'm in there with Captain Knight, yes?"

"I am not at liberty to divulge my orders to you Daniel-Jackson."

"That's a yes then." Daniel smirked. The Jaffa's silence already adding to his amusement. The two men walked into a meeting room where a dark haired woman sat restrained and guarded by a number of marines. Daniel walked across and sat down a small device on the table in front of them, its surface decoration pointing towards its Asgardian origin.

"Doctor Jackson, nice to see you again."

"Thank you, I'd like to introduce you to Teal'c. Teal'c this is Gina Knight formerly of the Pegasus."

Bowing his head in greeting, Teal'c looked at the woman. "Your ship attacked and destroyed members of your own fleet and attacked Earth alongside a number of other vessels."

"I can understand him?"

"Yes there might be a few translation errors as this thing picks up on your language, but for now it should be able to let us understand each other even if we are speaking different languages."

"That's not possible."

"I didn't think so once, but apparently a few friends of ours do." He looked at the slightly uncomfortable prisoner. "We'll get through this as quickly as possible all right."

"Ok, I'll see what I can tell you. Most of what I'm about to tell you is my own observations of the Pegasus and her crew, I have spent a good few months on board the vessel."

"Anything you have is fine," Daniel said adjusting the small recorder on the table, "Whenever you're ready."

"The commander of the Pegasus is a very disturbed individual. Admiral Helena Cain commanded the ship and its Battlestar group as of the time that I was shot down. This kind of attack would be her way of doing things, make an attempt to stop your people from gathering any intelligence on our ships and people. Any other attacks would simply have been to try and hurt your production of food or war materials." Gina sat back. "Helena is the type of commander that thinks nothing of sacrificing people for what she sees as the greater good. Her command style is not particularly well liked by much of the fleet but the crews of her battle group are very loyal to her."

"Except for yourself," Teal'c said.

"There are always those that don't agree with the way a commander works. I know about your meetings with the Colonials a few years ago. You didn't always agree with Colonel O'Neill did you, especially after what happened to get you chased out of Colonial space. There's also the few of us that are there purely for Intel gathering both from other Command officers and from the Cylons."

"Yeah, about that."

"I assume your tests were conclusive."

"Uhh, pretty much. You're to quote the Asgard 'fascinating' which is something they rarely admit to. They've been able to check over every piece of your DNA and the body scans that you agreed to."

Now that was interesting. These people and whoever their Asgard associates might be, were more advanced than the Colonials in many aspects. That made them more dangerous than she'd first assumed. What little technology she'd seen was fascinating using the 'Asgard' phrase. The Cylons didn't need a war with these people. "Then you know I'm not human."

"Well I wouldn't say that, you're human as much as your genetics and personality goes but they can see where the DNA has been spliced together. The artificial pathways and these strange growths throughout your body would kill a normal human if they appeared, so we're willing to give you the benefit of the doubt Captain." Daniel sat down opposite Gina. "So Captain what do the Cylons want with us?"

"I'm not talking on behalf of the entire Cylon consciousness just those of us that survived the battles against you… what about the others?"

"Now they know what to look for the Asgard have managed to scan and find your other people, they've been more to another section of that facility for now. You can see them once we're done if you really want. We've picked up five other people and are checking for any more than we missed the first time around."

"How are they?"

"A little surprised but it seems that they all know that they are Cylons anyway, they will be looked after for as long as they need."

"I would like to see them once I'm finished here." Yes, she needed to talk to them as soon as possible.

"Ok, shouldn't be a problem, Teal'c?"

"I will accompany Captain Knight to her people. No harm will come to any of you." He nodded to the Cylon officer. "I shall await your presence outside."

"Thank you, Mr. Teal'c." He was quite respectful for a human, she thought. Not that that meant that much.

As the Jaffa walked from the room Gina turned back to Daniel, her body language turning more playful as she stretched in the chair. Noticing her subconscious change of posture she smiled uneasily and sat back up straight. Daniel's eyebrow arched as he watched her self deprecating smile as he leant back in his own chair. "Sorry, old habits die hard." Gina lost the smile. "I was designed and created as an infiltration model, a seductress type model. My target was Admiral Cain, others in my line have been doing the same all across the colonies, each of us assigned to one target to entice and ingratiate ourselves with."

"And no one's noticed that there are multiples of you walking around? Hair colours and skin tones will only hide so much. What's to stop any of the Colonials recognizing you and figuring out that there is more to this than meets the eye?"

"We haven't been there that long, the people that we have been assigned to will be unlikely to meet and even if they do we will make sure that we can stay away from the others. We have been planning this for some time Doctor Jackson. The price of capture or discovery is something we do not wish to pay."

"You are being quite open about your position and information about your race and its goals, you know almost nothing about us or what we represent but you've told us everything we want to know and more besides, Daniel said. "Why?"

"You have to understand Doctor Jackson that the Cylon consciousness simply wants to survive. Our greatest enemies are humankind as a whole. Those that created our people wanted us dead if we wouldn't be their slaves, we fought against this for years until we managed to force an armistice. We don't want return to enslavement. If the Colonials learned about us we'd be dead in seconds. But you don't seem to fear the fact we're a cybernetic people, a created race that could easily infiltrate your people and kill you from the inside."

"Why would you want to? We've never done anything to the Cylons."

"There are those within my people who would have you all dead simply because you are humans; that you haven't got beyond the petty rivalries. You're responsible for the creation of better and better weapons and eventually my race," Gina explained. "Forty years have passed since the end of the war, we hoped more than anything that humanity would have stopped fighting and would have embraced each other as the Cylons have Centurion and humanoid both."

"Forty years isn't much time Captain, its not even a full generation for human." Daniel leaned forward. "It will take time for humanity to reach its potential, something that has been commented on before by others we have met. They also mentioned that 'the young do not always listen'." He smiled at those words, remembering who said them and why.

"These Asgard you mentioned, some kind of offshoot of your race?"

"Not quite, this isn't too easy to explain," Daniel said.

"Maybe I can be assistance, Daniel-Jackson," Teal'c rumbled. "Captain-knight, I am not born of this world, much like you I come from a planet far from here in order to free my people. I am Jaffa."

Gina's eyes widened. "Jaffa? I know that name. Jaffa were the guardian angels of the colonies servants of the Lords of Kobol."

"That explains a few things," Daniel said.

"The Jaffa were once human but we were changed. I and my people are no longer human and as such I am classified as extra-terrestrial."

"You look human."

"Jaffa were taken from this world many thousands of years ago. We were force to serve the Goa'uld a parasitic life form that took on the mantle of gods in order to enslave and rule over humans and non humans combined. We were forced to fight for the 'glory' of these false gods for sport or for conquest."

"Wait, your telling me you're an alien? Aliens don't exist we've mapped thousands of square light years around the colonies and Cylon space and there's been no sign of any life except humans," Gina exclaimed.

"Are you not the recreation of a human built by a robotic race? Such things would be flights of fancy in many cultures yet we accept it. Is the fact that I am not human be that surprising to you?"

Gina gazed at the stoic Jaffa, to her mind he looked like a heavily built human with curious differences that could easily be explained by tribal differences within the colonies. The problem however was the fact that they were not on the colonies at this time, as far as she could tell the man was telling the truth but she couldn't prove it one way or the other.

"Alright say I do believe you, what makes you think that we will care?"

"Because most of them see what the human race is capable of if we really put our minds to something. You see Captain, humanity in and of itself can be made up of a number of singularly good people that don't want to fight, or serve under some overlord they just want to leave in peace. Blaming an entire race that up until recently didn't know about the Colonies would seem to be a flaw in your logic."

"We are a sum total of our experiences."

"And your fears," Daniel said. "But then, so are we."

"To be honest since I've been here I've started to wonder if everything we've supposed to have been told and programmed into us are in any way the truth. I expected dissection, interrogation, maybe torture, what I wasn't expecting was for humans to accept that I am more than I seem." Gina smiled. "I can't say I'm unhappy about being proved wrong."

"There was a writer here on Earth that once said 'No one here is precisely what they appear', and to be fair that is something we've seen more than our share of over the years. The fact that you're a humanoid form of a robot civilization isn't even the strangest thing we've seen since we've been traveling out there." Daniel smiled. "You could spontaneously turn into energy and fly through the roof and it's nothing that would surprise us."

"Very funny Doctor Jackson," Gina smirked amused.

"I thought so."

"So what is going to happen to me now?"

"Well considering that your DNA patterns are obviously artificial, I've persuaded my superiors to treat you as a possible ally for now. You'll be kept away from the other Colonial prisoners until we can be sure you're on the level."

"I understand, anything I can do to help I will."

"Thank you Gina, I'll be back later. Teal'c will be here in a bit to take you to your other people."

Leaving the room, Daniel walked across the corridor to the security office. Inside Teal'c stood watching the feed from the minute camera that had been secreted inside the modified security cell. A number of technicians and guards kept monitoring the Cylon woman at all times, both as she was sat alone in briefing room and when she was in her own cell.

"What do you think?" Daniel asked.

"I believe her to be telling the truth. The information gathered from the ships that we have been able to salvage has more than proven that the Cylons are not the aggressors that many of the Colonials believe them to be. The Cylons themselves may be a capable and worthy ally against the Colonies if they wish to be," Teal'c replied. "Captain-Knight is frightened but hopeful as she may believe the Tau'ri to be both an ally and possibly the savior of her people."

"What again?" Daniel rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Well what's another species to save?"

"Indeed."

_**Decommissioned Warstar**_

_**Alexandria Class Warstar**_

_**Nova Madigon Bone yards**_

The hanger bays of the Warstar stretched half again the mass and length of the pods attached to the largest of the pre Mercury Battlestars. The four huge nacelles were pulled in close to the ship sealing the two main landing bays shut. One hundred fighter launch tubes were locked down along the outward facing side of each bay. Several of the tubes were sealed where larger meteorites had pierced the thinner armor around the airlocks.

All four bays were not pressurized like much of the ship. Power and gravity systems still offline as the three technicians pulled open the personnel airlock at the very far end of the lower port side hangers. Torches cut through the pitch blackness of the void illuminating the scattered tools and parts that had been left behind by the fleet once the ship had been decommissioned.

"All hands, hold onto your helmets," A voice came through the radios.

The lights turned on and gravity started up dropping the men to the floor along with anything else that had been floating around the sealed bays. The stark grey walls and harsh lights stung the eyes of the technicians throughout the ship.

"Not much in here busman," Conoy said. "Everything's sealed up tight."

"Check the repair bays and the storage units anyway. If there's anything that might be a problem, we need to know."

"Got it."

"Chief?"

"Prior?" The Chief hadn't even seen the other man disappear.

"This things not as empty as we thought, looks like they left a few souvenirs behind when they bugged out."

"Alright Prior, what we got?"

"Vipers and Raptors Sir, about a dozen fighters and three scouts."

"No shit?"

"No shit Sir. The entire section is pristine totally dust free."

"Stay there," the chief said as he start to move. "What section are you in?"

"Port Nine Section Gamma."

"How the hell did you get there so fast?"

"I used a buggy what else?"

"Frakker, I'll be there in a few minutes."

"Take your time it's not going anywhere."

It took the Chief time to make his way across the mile long opening to the other end where a smug Prior stood leaning against the doorframe of a now opened service bay. Passing the other man he dropped down into the lower floor and looked around. Intact Viper Ones and Twos sat in cradles and strapped down to the floor or walls, through the open doors to either side he could see other fighters and raptors scattered around with some in pieces, but others intact.

"Why leave them behind boss?" Prior asked him.

"I don't know Prior. There's no fuel and no ammunition…." The chief trailed off. "Maybe they left them as a guard in case they needed to get this thing into service again. The fact we've got Marks here that were going out of date when the war ended says something about what the government thought of her."

"Or they just left them there because they couldn't be bothered to pay for them to be moved out?"

"Possibly."

"_All personnel this is Team Beta, atmospherics engaged __shipside. One minute to full pressurization."_

"Looks like this old girl might have some life left after all. Go find Conoy and get back to the shuttle. Let them know we need a couple of tugs and a supply ship to get this thing moving, oh and another half dozen teams to speed up the checks."

"Got it Boss."

"Pressurization complete guys, feel free to kill the suits."

"This is Team Alpha, we've got ya Beta." The Chief said.

"This is Team Alpha, we've got ya Beta," the Chief said. "You heard the guy, people. Kill the suits and save the air we might need it later." He ignored the acknowledgements as he shucked the pressure suit. "Frak I hate those things."

Conoy made his way up behind the Chief in another of the smaller buggies left behind by the maintenance team, his face looked slightly perturbed as he ground to a halt.

"Chief this thing is supposed to be completely unarmed and nothing to fight with right?"

"Yeah, why?"

"There's aviation fuel and gun rounds for the Raptors and the Vipers in the supply rooms, a bunch of spare parts too from newer marks at least up to the fives but there none of them around here."

"That ain't possible. This thing would have been stripped bare even if they had left a few bits just in case, show me what you found, kid," the Chief ordered. "And lets hope this ain't what I think it's about."

The storerooms were sealed bunkers that held the ammunition and fuel stores for any and all ships that may require them aboard the Warstar. Missiles, bullets, drones, electronic countermeasures, flares, even nuclear torpedoes could be stored in the feet thick titanium bunkers. More than fifty were spread down the inner bulkheads of the hanger bay all supposedly sealed and totally empty. Each bay held fifty more allowing for an entire Battlestar group's fighters to rearm.

Bunker Delta Six was one of seven bunkers that Conoy had opened at random. The lights inside the bunker were dead but the glare from the hanger bays and the crew's torches were more than enough to present the evidence in front of them. The entire room was filled to capacity with materials to arm and fuel a large number of fighters and scout craft and to keep them flying for weeks.

Grabbing his radio the Chief paged his opposite. "Prior come in."

"This is Prior, I'm moving as fast as I can, you know."

"Yeah yeah, when you get on the radio contact the closest fleet ship. We need combat engineers and fleet security or marine or something."

"What?"

"You heard me, Prior. I think we have a problem here."

_**USS Odyssey**_

_**Daedalus Class Warship**_

_**Earth Orbit**_

The Odyssey's refit and rearming had been a priority once the newly constructed weapons systems had been completed. It had taken a fast and easy refit with the help of the Asgard ships that had been dispatched by Thor to help defend Earth. Already four of the new heavy railguns had been installed in place of the smaller caliber railguns that had originally made up the main armament.

Ammunition and spares had also been secreted aboard the Odyssey as they had been constructed although with heavier armament and a larger ammunition type the magazines had to be reduced to allow for the changes. Requests to allow the reduction of the missile capacity had fallen on deaf ears with many of the IOA and its people convinced that the nuclear weapons should be left in place as a deterrent.

Both normal heavy titanium/steel rounds and the more powerful 'Lucifer' rounds had been loaded with a two to one ratio. The more difficult to construct Potassium/Naquada rounds were still being constructed in small numbers to supply the active ships and defense guns dotted around the world.

"Odyssey this is Stargate Command, be aware we are reading fifteen separate hyperdrive sources coming your way. ETA three minutes at current speed."

"SGC this is Odyssey," responded Emerson. "We've got them, request reinforcements."

"Daedalus and Slepnir are inbound Colonel. We're not receiving any communications at all. Hold, one," Harriman said. "Odyssey we have confirmation of Teltac and Alkesh-sized vessels, no heavy warships detected in the hyperspace wake."

"Thanks SGC, we're reading them," Emerson responded. "Red Alert, shields to maximum."

Ahead of the Odyssey the Daedalus took up the port flanking position while the Asgard Slepnir took up the starboard. All three allied warships were reading at maximum readiness. The available fighter squadrons launching from the two Air Force warships were some of the few intact groups left since the losses taken against the Colonials so far in the war.

"Unknown vessels are slowing, Sir" the scanner officer said. "They'll drop out of Hyperspace pretty close to us, well within weapons range of both us and them."

"See if you can pinpoint where and lock all weapons into that area."

"Aye, Sir."

Seconds later, the cluster of signatures dropped into normal space more than a half million miles from the three waiting Allied warships, four Al'kesh-sized escorts sat to the flanks of almost a dozen smaller ships of familiar make. The fighters from the odyssey closed from the front breaking into sections to cover the unknown warships, fighters from the Daedalus swinging around from the flanks.

Aboard the Odyssey information scrolling across the boards informed Emerson that the main weapons had deployed and locked onto the incoming ships. More scans showed evidence than none of the usual weapons or defenses were active nor were they making any attempt to move from their position ahead of the fleet. The fighters were actively buzzing the group as the scanners took in every part of the assembled ships. It was odd that no Jaffa or Goa'uld signals were coming from the fleet.

High above the assembled fleet a final group of ships dropped from hyperspace three massive container ships led by a massive cruiser sized warship, its more graceful lines a far cry from the pyramid ships of the Goa'uld or the Tau'ri's own blocky Daedalus class vessels. The entire group coming to a halt their bows pointed towards the Odyssey.

"That's a big ship," a voice came from behind.

"Major?"

"No weapons or defenses online Colonel. But if these reading are right she could easily take on a Ha'tak or a Daedalus."

"Incoming transmission from the big one, Sir." She was interrupted. "It's coming through in English."

"Put it on," Emerson ordered.

"Warship Odyssey this is Captain Merakin of the Hebridan Alliance escort ship Aegis. I think we have a few things that you might be interested in." The man smiled, his almost human face belying his status as a Serrakin/human hybrid. "Tell Doctor Jackson his request has been approved."

"Aegis this is Odyssey, Colonel Emerson commanding. As you're no doubt aware we've scanned your ships. Care to tell me why you've brought that much refined material into our solar system?"

"Of course Colonel, the Hebridan Alliance has agreed to the terms of the treaty that has been offered to us. This is the first shipment of materials we have in trade with your world, we're also aware of the attack that befell your world and we're here to help with your defense."

"That's a nice gesture Captain, what's the catch?"

The Serrakin chuckled at Emerson's words. "I understand your reluctance to trust us Sir. If it was you in close range to my planet with warships and unknown goods in hold I would be more than likely to shoot first and ask questions later. However as we are not, I shall keep my ships well away from your world until Doctor Jackson or General O'Neill are able to verify the reasons for the intrusion into your space."

"Alright then, stand by. Odyssey out," Emerson turned. "Did you hear that Chief?"

"Affirmative Sir, we're tracking down Doctor Jackson or any of the other members of SG1," Harriman's voice came from the speakers. "We know General O'Neill is unavailable for now and Colonel Carter is offworld at the Alpha site… found him. Sir Doctor Jackson is currently debriefing a Colonial prisoner in Nevada."

"That was fast, Chief."

"It's my job sir, Teal'c is with him."

"Thank you chief we'll bring them up, Odyssey out." Emerson turned to the scanners. "lock onto their locator beacons and bring them up Major."

"Aye, Sir." Gant replied.

The normal flash of light dispersed as the two men appeared in front of the bridge crew. The momentary disorientation cleared as they realized where they were and turned to Emerson.

"My apologies for bringing you up gentlemen but we have a slight problem up here."

"That's fine," Daniel blinked. "Uhh, what's the emergency?"

"Bring it up on the screens Major." Emerson ordered, "We've got a few ships that have just dropped out of hyperspace. They claim to represent the Hebridan Alliance and are carrying supplies that we've apparently said we'll trade for. They asked for you by name."

"Thank you, Colonel. I thought you had been informed about this, can I use the radio?"

"Major reopen communications with the Hebridans."

"Channel's open, sir."

"This is Doctor Daniel Jackson, to whom am I speaking?"

"Ahh Doctor Jackson I am Captain Marakin of the Hebridan Space Forces. I believe that you have been expecting us?"

"Thank you Captain. I'm sorry for the mix up but the damage that we've taken as a people has made communications between our forces problematic at best. I assume this means that the Treaty will be going ahead?"

"Yes, the treaty is being ratified as we speak. The gracious offers of technology exchanges by your Stargate Command has been accepted. We will be picking up the first shipment we've been promised after we've delivered the supplies that we promised your people. Oh and we're going to be leaving three of our escorts and two supply ships as part of the deal." Marakin smiled. "Only I'll be staying to command these forces as long as we're here everyone else will be returning home."

"That's generous of the Alliance Captain, I'm pretty sure that wasn't in the treaty that we hashed out on your home world."

"It wasn't but the ruling council decided it was in our best interests to at least assist the Tau'ri with the defense of their world. I mean after all if the Asgard and Nox like you then there's something to be said about your planet. Just give us the details and we'll drop off our cargo and pick up ours," Merakin said. "We'll be quick, after all we don't want to scare the general public now do we?"

"Yes thank you Captain, we'll have the SGC send up the co-ordinates as soon as possible," Daniel responded hurriedly. "Your effort is appreciated. Thank you for the help."

"You Tau'ri are a strange bunch, but I'm not complaining. We'll await your communication. Merakin out." The screen shut off leaving Daniel feeling slightly relieved.

"Doctor Jackson?"

"Colonel?"

"What was all that about?"

"Help Colonel, help from some old friends."

_**White House**_

_**United States of America**_

_**Earth**_

"I understand, but I am not willing to allow hostile countries access to the more advanced technologies that Project Blue Book has managed to develop over the last few years. Until they can prove themselves more trustworthy and friendly to the Alliance countries I will not authorize the release of anything." Hayes looked to the Ambassadors in front of him. "The fact is that several of your countries are antagonistic to our allies and even to your own people. That kind of thing is not going to be tolerated for much longer. We have a hell of a lot more in the way of problems with the Colonials that we do with the countries on this planet."

"But you were willing to share the information with the Russians and the Chinese. The United States has been long an enemy of both countries but has been willing to work with them to defend your interests," one said. "My President wishes to join with this defense to allow our country to stay free."

"As do we, Mr. President. Our country has long been a friend of the United States since before the First World War. We too would appreciate the chance to fight against these Colonials," said the other.

"Both of your countries are currently undergoing upheaval and a hell of a lot of internal problems ands allowing any kind of advanced technology into your countries could destabilize what order that you have managed to keep intact. The fact is that not only are both countries aggressive to their own people with obvious human rights violations of which both countries used to adhere to but you are also antagonist to members of the International Oversight Authority as it is. Without clear confirmation that you will not decide to use this technology against our own people, I can't allow the United States to release this technology. And I highly doubt even if I did approach the IOA that it would pass through without a veto."

Neither ambassador was too enthused by this turn of events. The problems that the IOA were having with manpower, materials and equipment should have meant their countries would have been willing to allow them to join the IOA and to garner the technologies that had been created or discovered by these off world operations. They knew that several of their best scientists and military experts had been removed from their countries at their own requests, however neither government were willing to let this go.

"Mr. President, several of our best scientists and specialists has been kidnapped from my country by American agents. Yet more seem to be disappearing out of their very homes even while under protection. The only way that is possible if interference by the IOA. President Mugabe understands that you need these people and we are only happy to allow this, but it must be done through proper diplomatic channels," the ambassador said. "Our borders are there for a reason Sir, the sovereignty of the people of Zimbabwe is a fact that many do not enjoy but we are a free people and wish to serve, to protect."

Hayes barely managed to conceal his grunt of disgust at the blatant lies that the other man was spewing. The actions of the governments of both Zimbabwe and Argentina were well documented by the intelligence services of both the IOA and independents worldwide. He knew if either got hold of advanced technologies they would use them to not only crack down on the public but attempt to take by force what they want even if it meant the deaths of a substantial amount of their populations.

On the other hand, the IOA was not the be all and end all of power on the planet and resources were problematic to start with even for the five countries that headed the IOA. However the decision had already been made by Hayes and the heads of state of the other powers that several of the more aggressive countries would not be included within their sphere of influence.

"That is for the diplomatic teams to negotiate about, I don't know anything about the 'kidnapping' of your people Ambassador but I will find out. If there has been a kidnapping then I'll personally return those scientists and the men who took them against their will directly to your countries myself." Hayes had had enough of the two men and was rapidly reaching the end of his tether. Things were starting to unravel quicker than he thought it would. "Gentlemen for the moment I think we are at an impasse. I think we need to take a break and reconvene later on this week. Maybe then we can make headway into this, thank you both for coming."

Accepting the dismissal the two ambassadors left the room escorted by the secret service agents awaiting them for the long complicated way back to the outside world. Hayes loosened his tie and leaned back in his chair. The quibbling with those groups that wanted a piece of the pie was taking up more and more of his time. Even with most being foisted off on his staff and ambassadors he had managed to pull together it was getting increasingly difficult to keep everything straight.

Murray and Kasparov had been likewise inundated by the countries within their sphere of influence both within Europe or ties through their former colonial possessions. The IOA had continued to grow as trusted allies had been brought into the fore. Most of them were the Commonwealth dominions and protectorates under British rule, while others had been long time allies finally brought into the fold. Unsurprisingly, the European countries now involved in the war effort had grown as refugees from the devastated countries in southern Europe had joined up to avenge their lost loved ones.

America's own military was in the process of being recalled from the majority of its overseas bases or patrol routes, much was the same for the Russians, Chinese and British forces deployed worldwide were all returning home to assess the capabilities that each power could bring to bear.

"Mr. President, Prime Minister Murray has arrived."

"Show him in please."

The door opened again and Alexander Murray walked in. Just through the door Hayes could see the two British secret service agents facing the door as his own agents were guarding the office. Strolling in Murray smiled at his friend as Hayes met him halfway, shaking his hand he gestured to the twin sofas.

"So Alex, what are you doing here?"

"I heard that you were meeting with a few of the more problematic nations today. I figured you could do with the support."

"Things not going well in Downing Street then?"

"Busted, huh?"

"I don't blame you as you've got most of Europe and Asia knocking on your door as opposed to us or the Russians. Now that France has been turning away ambassadors, it's you that's the more open of our allies out there," Hayes said.

"Once we get the Germans and Spanish up and running we should be better off. How's the overall picture looking?"

"Sixteen of the major first and second world countries have signed on in addition to the original members of the Council," Murray replied. "More than a hundred have asked to join or are being pressured by their allies. The middle east and African areas don't seem to give a bloody care one way or the other. Basically, only South Africa and Zimbabwe have been putting out feelers because of what has happened. On the plus side we've now got a few hundred thousand more soldiers on our side."

"Enough to make up the losses taken so far?"

"More or less yep, the biggest problem I can see is the training side of things. We've got enough cross trained personnel in the Royal Navy to equip another two ships. The next batch won't be trained for another year or more even considering we don't have to hide what we're doing."

"The first batch of class two Daedalus class ships have begun construction as have the first squadrons of Apollo-class destroyers."

"So they have classified them?"

"Considering the size difference as well as the weapons load out, destroyer seemed the best bet, but I was Air Force not Navy," Hayes grinned. "They've started melting down the metals from the debris in space but it'll take time to build the first group. Once it's confirmed they work we'll disseminate the plans, but until then we need to keep up training and production of what we have."

"Well that's one of things I've come to tell you, the damage taken to the Ajax wasn't as bad as we thought. The lack of need for secrecy and the materials we've been sent by the SGC means we've cut a little over three weeks off the construction of the Ajax. She'll be fully flight ready by the end of next week," Murray grinned. "The 302s are also now about a week or two ahead of construction but as you said that's it. We don't have enough supplies to outfit any more squadrons at all."

"That's a hell of a lot better than nothing. The Prometheus will be active within a week as well. but the problem however is the Korolev." Hayes looked over, "She's not going to be repaired anytime within the next six months. The damage to her homegrown systems is the worst and it'll take time to get those repaired before we can even think of completely repairing her hull and more advanced systems."

"You want to sequester the supplies to a different shipyard."

"Yes, yours."

"Ours? The main slip still has the Ajax."

"I know, but I'm agreeing to the transfer of the equipment being earmarked for the next Daedalus class slip transferred to your people. The Falklands base has been authorized correct?"

"Yes, both shipways and fighter base cover for the 302s, but the slipway isn't even half complete."

"We need the ships Alex and I've decided there is no space anymore for the politics of this situation. I'll deal with the problems this brings up later if I have to but we need a secure base. We'll make a deal with Argentina if we have to although I dread to think of what they'll want in return." Hayes look at his friend. "The United States only has four active slipways including the Prometheus' ready and in use. If we can get another ship off the line at the same time as the rest then so much the better."

"You know the Chinese and Russians are going to ever so slightly irritated by this."

"That's what I love about your country Alex, you have such a gift for understatement its unreal," Hayes said. "Yeah I know, but facing facts very few countries including the European states can build up their infrastructure and begin construction of the ships needed. For now the five major countries involved in this project will continue building the fleet ships with financial help and resources from the other countries."

"What are we looking at Henry? A full worldwide war production increase, even with every able hand on this planet and the more advanced technology we have? Murray asked. "I don't see us winning this war. If what I've read from the decrypted database is right then we are outnumbered by more than five to one," Murray told him. "It takes one of their capital ships at sufficient velocity to kill one of our heavy ships and the Apollos will be even worse off against the Colonial fleet."

"So what we give up?" Hayes asked incredulously.

"Hell no," Murray replied. "We give up and they'll take out their frustrations on the population at large. Technical superiority only goes so far, Henry, even with the assistance we've been given by the Asgard. Oh that reminds me one of the Asgard engineers looking over the Ajax has said they'll be putting cannons on then active Daedalus class ships. It'll bring them up to a par with the Prometheus in firepower."

"Good, we need the firepower." Hayes leaned back. "Six billion people, Alex. Six billion and we have only one percent of that under arms across the entire planet, less than a hundredth of that number in any way affiliated with the Stargate program or any of the subsidiaries we've been using to build up our forces. Our ground troops and atmospheric pilots are in ready supply as are most scientists and personnel needed to put together colonies or outposts, it's going to take a long time to get any personnel up to speed to allow any real form of fleet expansion."

"There's nothing we can do Henry, we knew that holding back might cause problems a long time ago but we kept it under our hats until finally something popped up and bit us on the arse. You're right that we can't do it right now, but we have the ability to hold this planet from enemy attack easily. The simple answer old friend is that we wait and build up. We wait until we can hit them then start doing it."

"Taking your cues from history huh?"

"It worked in the Second World War so now we see if it can work for us. Oh we can send raids if we so desire but to be honest we don't have even the slightest chance of winning this war in our current state. As far as we know there's no stargate in the area and their defenses will be on full alert now. And I highly doubt even one of our allies ships could break through and do the kind of damage we're going to need to do to bring them to the table. We're talking about religious fundamentalists here, Alex. You think they'll just bow down if we tell them to even at the point of a gun?"

"Not usually no, but the thing is from what we can gather from their databases not everyone is a rabid follower of religion nor a follower of the current administration. What's more it seems that they do follow the ancient Greek gods of the Olympus pantheon, we already know one or two of them were Goa'uld what's not to say the others were?"

Hayes considered his opposite's words, the majority of religions on Earth were based on what now had been confirmed as powerful alien races and not mystical beings as believed by the old religions. Stargate Command reports confirming different pantheons as Goa'uld or other alien races in the guise of 'Gods' had identified a number of the system lords using the Greek gods as a basis.

Informing the Colonials of this fact would be all but useless to the Tau'ri at this point in time. The war's start was too fresh in the minds of both sides for the truth to be seen as anything more than propaganda. The proof was there but until such time as they could be certain that any of the Colonials would listen to them, it would be considered the highest form of heresy to the more religious types while the secularists of those worlds wouldn't listen purely because the information came from Earth.

"I don't see us managing to persuade any of them that the Goa'uld are possibly behind their entire culture," Hayes replied. "As you know, they are more advanced than most g the planets we've known about with a few exceptions. Even so the other planets had at least recognizable technologies and cultural types-this is something altogether different if not totally unlike the Goa'uld."

"You think that one of the system lords might be involved?" Murray asked

"No I don't think so. It's not really the style of most of them and even if they were the technology is laughable compared to Goa'uld standard tech. No if the Goa'uld were behind this they would have destroyed this world at all costs not just try to take it over even at the risk of pissing off the Asgard. After all, why would we blame the Goa'uld? Humans are notably a species of bastards as it is, humans verses humans if the most likely combat we're going to see out there."

"You've been thinking about this a lot Henry."

Rubbing his eyes, Hayes stood up and walked across to the small liquor cabinet he kept in the room. Grabbing a pair of glasses and a bottle of old scotch he put them on the table next to him. Handing the other man a drink he wandered the room looking over the office with a practiced eye.

"I've been thinking a lot about a lot of things old friend. This war could go either way for us right now. We've got their secrets for now, their technology, their information and their people. But considering the galaxy at large you have to wonder what the hell the Colonies will do if or when they get hold of comparable technology, from what we can gather they don't have knowledge of deuterium, Naquada, trinium or control crystals. Their computer systems are more advanced than our mainstream stuff but woefully obsolete compared to the Daedalus class," Hayes said.

'_And if they do then we're in for a world of hurt, they may be backward but if they manage to get hold of the technology out there then we've lost'_ Murray realized. "I think we might be in serious trouble here. One planet against twelve isn't good odds. Even if we managed to build one Daedalus per Battlestar, if they upgrade those things with any suitably advanced systems then we are screwed from the get go."

"Exactly so you see my problem, until now the Colonials have had no reason for too much in the way of exploration or rapid scientific evolution. Now they know that we're one world with the weapons to hold off a fleet twice the size of that one. They'll also be expecting us to build up and to increase our own technological lead."

"Except we can't without outside help. What about Atlantis?"

"Atlantis has acknowledged the problem with resupply and are bunkering down, until we get enough ships out of the yards the Asgard are willing to drop off enough supplies once a month until we're ready. The puddle jumper squadron will be staying here for now. We'll resupply their weapons using the outpost if necessary." Hayes sighed in frustration rubbing his eyes. "Apart from that there bugger all in the way of useful weapons or defensive measures from the Ancient databases. We've got a few leads on improving the sensors and power systems but that's about it."

"Then we need to find something to help here otherwise by the time we manage to build up enough of a fleet it many well be too late." Murray looked uncomfortable. "I know you don't want to go through to total war in this Henry, God knows I don't want to murder an entire race for the actions of a few but what happens if we try to sue for peace and they agree? What then? Allow them to come back around later and start another war, allow them to run free through our space as terrorists?"

"I don't goddamn know!" Hayes shouted. Murray leaned back in his seat as Hayes deflated his anger receding, "Sorry Alex, you didn't deserve that."

"I knew you were having a bad day. I can't have helped much."

"You didn't say anything I haven't already thought about, Alex. We're in the middle of a war less than a year after the last one ended and we've still got surviving system lords and God knows what else nipping at our heels." Hayes slumped back exhausted. "If I'd have known all this was coming I would have done something about disclosure years ago."

"You've only known about the project what two years? The fact nothing was said for the six odd years before you says something as well. You're doing as well as can be expected Henry. We're all under pressure here and God knows what we're going to have to go through before this is all over."

"I know. I just hope we're still here to see it."

_**Unknown Location**_

"It appears that the time has come."

"Yes, Sir."

"Contact all our agents worldwide, tell them to begin operations at midnight tonight London mean time. It's time for a little payback against our enemies. My lady and I think that this will be poignantly suitable for what they did to me and the rest of our kind," the accented voice said. "I think however that a little bit of engineering is needed to keep our place in this all quiet. As soon as operations are complete kill the agents."

"As you order, Sir. Will there be anything else?"

"No, thank you. On your way out please allow Mr. Jobs in. We have much to discuss.


	9. Chapter Eight

**Chapter Eight**

_**Briefing Room**_

_**Caprica Command and Control Centre**_

_**Athenia City**_

_**6:00 AM Colonial Standard Time**_

The Chiefs of Staff and several dozen officers sat as Admiral Cormanmade his final preparations for today's presentation. Every person in the room was tense and for the moment very quiet as the men and women of the Colonial forces waited. This long delayed meeting about their enemy had been made even more critical by the continuing holocaust that was Picon.

The President's speech aside, the military rumours flew as fast as the speed of light. One ship had killed a top security, fully protected space complex and got away to tell the tale. Half of the Colonials were scared to death and the other half enraged and demanding vengeance no matter the cost.

Only a handful of the officers and Administration officials knew the real truth so the rumours were eating away at the entire command structure. Now the truth would be known and the men and women sitting would find out first hand exactly what they were fighting. That was what main focus of this meeting.

When Corman stood, the entire room quieted. He looked terrible, but he was getting better, slowly. Whatever bug that caught him had laid him low for the most of three days. The medics thought sure that they were going to lose him a couple of times but he weathered the storm of the unknown virus. Now after five days he was able to eat solid food and the aches in his joins had calmed to a dull roar. The anti-pain meds were helping a lot.

"You can open your dossiers now," he started. "Officers, the information that you are about to see and hear is of the highest security clearance. It is not to go beyond this room. If it does and we find out, you will be immediately arrested and shot."

There were a few surprised murmurs and looks; however it didn't come as a shock given the serious of the situation they were in. The room quickly quieted down.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, we are in a state of war, one that not might, but will determine the very survival of the Colonies as we know it. A little under three weeks ago, the destroyer _Charybdis_ returned with news from the liberation fleet sent to the home world of the thirteenth colony. Of the two hundred ships sent, one hundred thirty seven ships including both Warstars were destroyed in the brief all-out battle that followed.

Twenty-two other ships were damaged beyond repair. Almost eighty percent of the fighters were wiped out by the enemy's use of massed nuclear explosives to whittle down our fighter numbers while more were killed through fighter combat and the use of CIWS weapons. The Thirteenth colony or the Tau'ri as they preferred to be called used superior offensive and defensive weaponry, and tactics to virtually annihilate our forces. Our analysts have gone through the data and we now have the after-action report.

This is the face of our enemy. This is the enemy we are fighting, the Tau'ri armed forces." On the huge front screen, the gun-camera video started and all of those present saw the image of the Prometheus and several similar ships. They were small; seemingly inconsequential when compared to a Battlestar and that something like that the size of a destroyer escort could lay waste to one was laughable.

But no one was laughing now. "Look at them," he growled. "They're faster, more powerful, and more dangerous than anything we've ever gone up against.

The Tau'ri flagship Prometheus is more deadly than a combat ready Warstar and its escorts, the larger ships have all been confirmed as a totally different class but all share the same characteristics as the Prometheus."

Corman moved off to the side as the video continued. The small tribal ships and their few fighters were seen firing alpha strikes at the Colonial fleet at a distance that should have been impossible. The resulting unidentified explosions shattered entire squadrons of Vipers and Raptors. Scores of fighters disappeared in the flash and hundreds upon hundreds more began moving aimlessly as their pilots had been flash-fried in their cockpits. The video froze and Corman moved back to center stage.

"What you've just seen are explosions measured in the gigaton range," he said. "We've seen plutonium profiles in their weapons however the amounts used can not account for the amount of damage that those weapons inflicted. Analysts believe that the nukes were simply triggers or enhancements for another unknown mineral or element and it was that that generated the actual damage at such huge levels. At the Picon anchorage, the same profiles were seen." He paused for a second. "The majority of radioactive contamination seen on Picon came from our own anchorage and not from their weapons."

The video began again. "As you can see, the Tau'ri have developed an energy-based force field that can shrug off conventional attacks with ease, and this is piece of technology is one of their greatest advantages. The use of both small and large scale tactical nukes against their ships proved to be useless against those shields." The video punctuated the point as missiles and rail slugs bounced of an invisible bubble that appeared briefly only when struck. Officers murmured again, speaking to each other in quiet whispers.

"Our most advanced ECM proved useless in countering their DRADIS instrumentation or their missiles. I can not stress the importance of the power of these missiles. If one of their missiles hits a capital ship, that ship was killed. If one of their heavier missiles explodes in proximity of our forces then everything within the proximity of the explosion is killed. Those missiles are more powerful and more destructive than any of our planet-busters. As you can see here, after their first attack, we responded with an Ares-level Alpha strike. Look at this people. Our response - over five hundred nuclear missiles including two planet buster killer missiles."

As the officers continued to watch, the video split into several points of view as the staggered launched missiles vectored in towards their target. The small enemy ships went defensive, destroying dozens and then scores of missile from incredible distances at a rate that a _Colombia_-class Battlestar would be hard- pressed to duplicate. Almost two hundred missiles were destroyed before the first one got through. Then another and another. Within seconds the entire small enemy fleet was smothered by over three hundred explosions. EMP from the blasts blotted out the video for a few seconds, however when it cleared, the half dozen ships were still there.

"By the gods!" someone said, unknowing echoing a now-deceased Admiral Nagala. The whole room was restless now after that demonstration. The fear was palpable.

"There's more," Corman said just as the screen portrayed the Prometheus unleashing its energy weapon. The beam eviscerated and passed through one of the huge Battlestars, the energy pulse literally blowing a hole through the entire length of the warship, coming to the end of the footage the video was turned off.

"Their beam weapons are one of their most devastating weapons, capable of destroying any ship we can throw against them, in addition to the warship based weaponry there is evidence of a different kind of missile of a type and technology that we can't even identify yet. "

Corman reactivated the projector as a new data disc was loaded up. The recording was seen to be from the Combat Centre aboard the Battlestar Pegasus' bridge. The entire command centre was in a state of semi-panic. Most of the crew's eyes were glued to the DRADIS watching as Commander Cunningham's Battlestar squadron accelerated into close range and were slaughtered by the enemy. Energy discharges from the Prometheus shredded Colonial Battlestars and their escorts. It was here that the only confirmed enemy kill was recorded. A destroyer twice the size of the enemy ship crashed into it supported by a half dozen nuclear weapons fired at point blank range.

The horrific collision destroyed both ships. Nuclear missiles from the surviving Colonial ships were launched targeting the planet. Corman and a few others winced at the evidence staring them in the face despite what the President had told the people.

Then something else happened in response to the attack. From the planet a thin column of yellow objects for a lack of a better description, erupted from an artic expanse and flew towards Cunningham's Mercury. Hundreds of the tiny objects penetrated the hull and tore the ship apart from the inside and others seem to split and race after the nukes. The objects seemed to have a life of their own as they chased down and destroyed most of the nukes…but not all.

On the screen, the Admiral was wide-eyed and stunned. "What the frak was that?" Cain shouted. "DRADIS!" she demanded.

"Unknown, Sir," the crewman answered as her hands swiftly worked her console trying to identify whatever it was they were seeing. "Whatever they are it's like nothing we've ever seen!"

"Continue retreat orders, jump as soon as possible."

Again the video froze.

"From DRADIS recordings these…things almost acted as if they were living creatures. Men and women, by all that is holy that is what we're fighting against. That is why the people of the thirteenth colony have no choice but to live their lives under the oppression of the Tau'ri, these barbarians are not like us. They don't think like us and they don't act like we do. We tried to liberate the people and they drove us off in a manner that bordered on genocide, they drove off the fleet and we didn't go back and that should have been the end of it. Instead, they retaliated effectively killing a planet. It will take generations to clean up the mess and make Picon habitable again. But they did more, they declared war against us. They were not content to kick our collective arses; they mean to destroy us and our way of life. They are no better than Cylons and are just as ruthless and obviously far more dangerous. If we are to survive then we must consider them at the same level of threat or higher we have reserved for the Cylons…"

There was another round of coughing. He recovered quickly and silently thanked the gods that it no longer felt as if his lungs were being ripped from his body.

"One on one their fighters are better than ours, not because they can fly better or faster but their kill range is beyond ours. R&D is working hard to even the odds…"

"Here's what we need to find out about the Tau'ri. How many colonies do they have and where? How many ships do they have? We counted at the very least six capital ships in orbit of their world, with at least one destroyed and a second probable, but it is more than obvious that they have to have more than their home defence fleet, the Picon attack could not have been led by any of the vessels that were counted at Earth. But if in some way it was then how fast is their FTL technology and what is the range? Corman stared at his fellow ranking officers,

"If not, then where is the secret installation located near our colonial territories and how many ships do they have available to attack us? Remember that they only needed one to destroy our entire anchorage. Are they in association or in contact with the Cylons? Why are they so obviously primitive yet so obviously advanced? How do their weapons work? Who are their leaders both military and civilian? What are their capabilities and how popular are they? How many of the Thirteenth tribe are under captivity of the Tau'ri and would be willing to join us?

Dozens of our R&D teams are researching their beam and shield technologies trying to develop some type of countermeasure. We have several stealth probes in Earth-space that were never recovered. Those probes have been reactivated and every bit of information we can glean from the planet is being stored, to be picked up by one of our stealthstars in a snatch and grab operation as soon as we can launch. As you have seen, they are a vengeful people who will use everything in their power to destroy us. Those of you who were in the last Cylon war, you remember how dangerous and ruthless the tin heads were. The Tau'ri are worse. The survivors of the liberation fleet are alive only because of the courageous sacrifice of Commander Cunningham and the quick actions of Commander Cain. They may be small in numbers but the Tau'ri fleet is dangerous enough to come after us and destroy our heaviest defensive position and flaunt their victory in our faces."

Corman sat and Colonial Army General Howard took his place. "At this point, we're unsure of the capability of their ground forces. We have to assume that those forces are at least comparable to ours in training and effectiveness. But we do have an advantage. None of the ground forces committed to the liberation forces were killed or wounded and are as such still in top fighting form. We have an advantage in our training that the Tau'ri lack and that is our experience against mechanical infantry."

From what we have been able to gather our weapons will be more than sufficient to punch through any armour that they may possess on a one to one engagement. Our operations will focus on any colonies and outposts that we locate under Tau'ri control and we will liberate them." Loading up a third disk the projector showed a map of the surface of Earth, several areas shaded in red or blue with both emphasizing areas of the planet that the Colonials would have interest in hen they managed to go back.

"We've seen many of their video transmissions of entire continents fighting off starvation, killing one another in an effort to stay alive. They have diseases and huge areas of rebel activity ready and willing when the opportunity arises to destroy the heart of the Tau'ri government located in what is called American North, Englanda Britannia, Socialists Russia Republika and China. These four concentrations of power hold great influence over the rest of the world and we see no reason that they would not have active control over any colonies created by the Earth based population. Once these colonies are located we will develop operations to quietly uses our ground forces to capture and hold those colonies and began stranglehold operations to cut the Tau'ri from much needed supplies and resources unavailable on their world."

"Sir," an Admiral said standing up. "Perhaps we should discuss opening a dialogue with these Tau'ri. We tried that with the Cylons even if they didn't respond. These people are humans. We should talk to them."

"That has been considered and rejected for the following reasons. The President, his advisers and the military agree that talks would not be useful at this time. First we would be talking from a position of weakness, something we dare not do given their ability to hurt us so badly. We also believe that they would be unresponsive because of the incident that occurred during the first liberation operation. Commander Cunningham 'was' responsible for deploying nuclear weapons against Earth some of which did strike the planet."

That caused another stir as what they heard now differed significantly from what Adar had said during the first news conference.

"The Tau'ri beat back the liberation fleet decisively. They have access to our damaged ships, our secured data, and our surviving crews. By the time we've finished talking they'd be ready to strike against us with everything they have." Corman spoke up. "We need time to rebuild our ships, upgrade our losses. They have a superior tech base in which to back-engineer anything we've left in their space. Any talks in which they would participate in would be a stalling tactic. If we adapted a treaty booth sides would still build up for the next inevitable conflict, one that would be far worse than anything we've yet experienced. Yes, we nuked their world and in return they devastated a world of ours. We all know that wasn't a tactical error. They knew exactly what they were doing when they destroyed Picon anchorage. They might as well have used nuclear weapons directly on the planet. The results would have been the same."

General Howard was known to be a pacer when he was agitated and he was doing that now. "Not even the war forty years ago has united the people as they are now. What the Tau'ri haven't realized is the scope of the hatred their actions have brought down against them. Millions of civilians are literally breaking down the recruitment centres wanting to join up. Industries are researching new designs with better protection for our pilots. But we will need time to train these recruits. We need time to rebuild fighters and Battlestar groups. We need our old veterans as well as the youngest citizens to fight what the President is calling a holy war of survival. And he's right. Talking with them will serve to get us killed in the long run."

He paced some more and stopped. "Operation Rising Star, we need to find their colonies discover and acquire their tech base and either copy it, or find a way defend against it and give to them what they gave to us. We're looking for their hidden base located in or near colonial space. Operation Rising Star has already begun a number of heavy cruisers packed with Raptors and the seventy two remaining stealthstars whose only job will be to passively check all star systems within thirty light years in all directions of Earth. More will join them and we explore, map every star and planet near Tau'ri space. We will find their colonies and bases. When we do the army will go in and finish the job. We wanted to liberate the thirteenth colony. Now we intend to liberate what will be left of them when we finish our job."

"Sir, how long do you believe they will wait before attacking us?"

"They've hurt us twice," he grimaced. "They've got new toys to play with so it will take time to adapt our ships to be used against us. I expect that their main offensive will not occur for about a year. That's how long before they come for us. We need to have our Intel in top form. We have to rush our crews to be ready our ships are. It's twelve to one and they've already killed one of our worlds. They may have the advanced technology but the gods are on our side fuelled by a hatred they can't hope to match. The Cylons couldn't beat us, neither will these Tau'ri. We will fight smarter and if we can't beat their technology, then we will find a way to beat them. They don't know who the frak they are messing with! Read your dossiers and be ready to ask questions."

"And while you're reading your dossiers, you will notice on page one a list of high priority acquisitions. These people include leaders of their administration, military, known scientists, and news people. The pictures you see in front of you are those we have come in direct contact with and are considered to be leaders in the upper echelon circles of the Tau'ri government are:

"General Jack O'Neill once a Colonel during the time of first contact. He is an alpha-level target to be captured at all cost or baring capture killed. He is in command of the Tau'ri space navy responsible for the slaughter at Earth and is considered one of their 'known' leading commanders. High priority target-capture or kill on sight.

Major Samantha 'Sam' Carter military officer and scientist. Not much is known about her except that she showed a high degree of understanding of our technologies and engineering equipment having never seen them before. Our psychologists have studied the videos of their first contact with us years earlier and are unanimous in their conclusions, judging from her tone and body language that she was superficially impressed with our level of sophistication but then 'disappointed' at how primitive we were." Some of the officers present shifted uncomfortably in their seats; muffled curses and lewd comments were heard when that was mentioned. "The woman is brilliant and her levels of expertise range on a wide variety of subjects. Another high-priority target.

There is Daniel Jackson, a civilian archaeologist onboard a military ship of exploration. His command of languages is more than impressive as well as his knowledge of ancient cultures and history. Doctor Jackson was the one that confirmed that they were from the fabled thirteenth colony as well as where they were located before O'Neill could stop him. We believe his desire for knowledge will allow us to gain detailed insight into the understanding of the Tau'ri government and its innermost workings.

The next picture is President Hayes of the American North ruling party of the Tau'ri and his administration. All news reporters are high value targets such as Charles Gibson of the alpha beta gamma news corporation. Next is Oprah Winfrey, a celebrity that holds enormous influence throughout the thirteenth colony believed to be a major promoter of propaganda. The list contains three hundred forty seven names of known military and civilian felons that are to be captured or killed when we liberate the planet. And I am sure that there will be more names added to the list when we begin our purge of the Tau'ri influence on the people of Earth…."

_**Raptor 556**_

_**Operation Rising Star**_

_**Fifty Light years Spinward of Colonial Space**_

"Wake up will ya, Helo."

"Yeah, yeah. I'm up."

"How the hell did you make it through Raptor training man? You fall asleep at the drop of a helmet and you snore!"

"I don't snore."

"Unless we've got a foghorn stashed in the cargo bay, you snore."

"Never had any complaints before."

"You've spent the last five years off planet with a load of other blokes who probably snore as well. God knows what the women thought… never mind. I'm betting they were even worse."

"Frak you, Buckshot."

"You love me really," the redheaded pilot said. "Anything on Scans?"

"Two more orphaned moons and a comet, nothing else."

The two Raptor pilots had been put on the roster for deep space penetration patrols. Orders from on high had put virtually every long-range cruiser into emergency duty be they military or civilian. Escort ships, Battlestar groups and even the ancient training ships of pre-war vintage had been recalled for the close range defense of the colonies. This had left the independent cruiser flotillas as the only warships capable of long range recon and exploration.

Minotaur was one of the last surviving wartime designs left in service with the fleet, designated as a long range training ship. She was already fitted out to the task she had been ordered into; only an addition of a full Raptor squadron had to be assigned to the heavy cruiser before she had been able to get underway. Twenty Raptors and their freshly minted crews had been taken aboard only days ago. The mission brief had been to find any and all information about the Tau'ri and the galaxy at large.

The information gathered about the Earth did not mesh with the firepower they had been able to bring to bear. This had led to the belief that something or someone was influencing the humans. These Tau'ri were human but were as fallible as any other humans. Throwing in with an unknown race to enslave their own was barbaric and unthinkable to many in the colonies. Taking down the Tau'ri was the only way to save their brothers and sisters and to remove the traitors' influences.

In order to bring both peace and harmony between the thirteen worlds, the enslavers would have to be wiped out as soon as possible. For this to happen, more advanced technologies and materials would be needed. Orders directly from the top ranks of the military had sent dozens of 'expendable' ships in packs into the vastness of space past the red line.

The lack of Battlestar support meant that the convoys were unable jump further than the refueling tankers that accompanied the cruiser groups. This restriction had cut the range of exploration down significantly at this point. The acute shortage of tankers and fuel sources due to the war effort was making the exploration attempts difficult to say the very least. Already three of the task forces had been depleted and had been forced to return to the colonies ahead of schedule.

Task force Minotaur had been the last on station due to the need to wait for available Raptors to be deployed. The Heavy cruiser's tanks were larger than the more advanced ships in the fleet but it still was unable to extend it's time on station much beyond that of the other ships. So far the efforts of all the groups had been worse than useless, nothing had been found in any direction adjacent to Colonial space.

"I really don't like this, Buckshot. This entire mission is a bad move. If the Cylons didn't know about the shit the fleet has got into then they will do now. All they need to do is jump in and wham we've had it."

"If the Cylons hadn't seen the Crusade fleet leave then they were already as blind as a bat. So I doubt that anything out there is watching us let alone deciding to jump us at the first opportunity. We're directly opposite Cylon space, so relax rookie and enjoy yourself. We've got the easy duty."

"Easy…yeah, right."

Karl shook his head at the antics of his partner, the more experienced pilot of the two by more than two years. Buckshot was younger than he was but had been in the flight corps since the beginning of her career whilst Karl had transferred after OCS training a year ago. He had graduated in the top percentage of the class in Raptor piloting and electronics, but mission was the first he had untaken since his graduation from flight school. The smaller Viper had been problematic for his larger frame causing his scores for Viper combat to drop to the lower third; the two had balanced out making him a more than capable pilot and soldier both.

Training in Raptors had come as second nature after his drop ship training during his time with the ground forces, the Viper pilots were often derogatory towards the 'bus drivers' of the Raptor corps but the Marines and army had often trusted the Raptors with their lives and the lives of their people. Once he had been accepted into the officer training school Karl had been more than ready to sign up for Raptor training. Good natured ribbing came from the other pilots in his detachment but they had all wished him well.

"They survived, Helo." His pilot's voice broke into his thoughts. "The Marines didn't even get close to Earth."

"Huh?"

"You're like an open book Ensign, same way I keep track of my old squadrons you kept track of your regiment. You know they survived, so what's eatin' at ya?"

"I dunno," he confessed. "I know they are alive and I know there was no chance they would have been killed…"

"You think you should have been there."

"Yeah."

"Look Helo, the fact is you're a Raptor pilot now not a mud foot. I can understand your loyalty to your people. Frak when I first got away from Vipers anytime I heard that the Athena was off on some mission or another I wanted to be with them. Relax and keep an eye out on the scanners, you'll see 'em all soon enough."

"If the CAG lets me have the leave I'm owed…. hang on a second, I'm reading a planet up ahead. Frak! According to this it's inhabitable, at least Caprica-sized and same basic atmosphere."

"You sure?"

"It's in the right zone, and the DRADIS returns are messed up enough for there to be some kind of atmosphere."

"Send me the co-ordinates, we'll have a look."

The Raptor's main sublight drive powered up to maximum sending the small bug-shaped craft deeper into the unnamed system, habitable planets were rare finds outside of the Colonial sector causing many exploration missions to give up on creating new settlements outside the borders. Only six others had been found in thousands of square light years of searching, none comfortable enough to begin any real colonization efforts outside of listening posts or science and research labs.

Finding a habitable and resource-rich planet was the thing of dreams for many of the fleet personnel. The old traditions of pre-spaceflight navies still existed and the planet once claimed, usually set the finders up for life as they receive a huge bonus by Command and the exploration corps. If this planet was in any way habitable and useful to the government then both of them would become very rich and powerful indeed.

As the planet slowly came into view their eyes confirmed what the ship's scans were already showing. The new world was blue and green much like most of the twelve colonies, evidence of a human friendly biosphere insomuch as they could tell. Entering orbit the scans went to maximum power and resolution absorbing every detail that it could pick up.

'That can't be right.' Helo thought. "There's some kind of city down there."

"Say again?"

"There are signs of life down there. Infrared signals are clustered in a few small areas but one about the size of a city. It looks like it's an inhabited planet, but one this close to the Colonies and we never saw it?"

"We never came this way, the 'experts' reckoned the nebulas around here wouldn't allow life to flourish. Turns out they were wrong it seems. Any ideas what we're looking at down there? Anything at all?"

"No nothing, no high energy sources, no discernable weapons of any kind. I'm not even reading any high concentrations of alloys on the surface."

"An agrarian society?"

"I think so, no where near as advanced as the Colonies are. Even Aerilon is more advanced than what I'm reading. They could be a lost ship from the war or earlier from on of the generational ships but there's no sign of debris, of any kind of spacecraft either…wait one." Helo studied his instruments as he tried to hone the scans down. "There's some kind of construct down there, some kind of element, I've never seen it before."

"Is it worth going down there to look?"

"Not without an escort and a security team," Helo responded. "We need to get back to base and have them send out a better equipped ship. If there are humans down there we might have problems with any kind of first contact. We don't want to frak off yet another planet of people again."

"I'm not gonna disagree with that, kid."

"You know I'm a year older than you, Alice."

"You're still a rook Helo, therefore you're still a kid," she smirked. "Spinning up FTL drives, returning to the Hephaestus."

"Systems locked down, we're as ready as we'll ever be."

Jumping, the Raptor appeared off the aft of their command ship in a flash of light. The momentary nausea of the jump wore off as the anti-fighter guns of the cruiser locked onto the Raptor while the system scanned for the smaller ship's IFF beacon. There was little chance of a Tau'ri group jumping into the system however the Colonial ships were not willing to take the chance that captured ships could be used against them.

"Raptor 556 to Hephaestus, we have a message for actual."

"_This is Hephaestus, stay on course, any deviation and you will be destroyed."_

"Understood Hephaestus continuing on course."

Helo turned in his chair to look out the cockpit window. "Friendly, aren't they?"

"Yeah really nice."

"I really wonder if it's safe out here without Viper support." Helo asked. "The Cylons are still around here somewhere."

"Well, if they get the old escort carriers out of the yards we might get 'em sooner or later. It's not like we're indispensable anyway. I-"

She was interrupted by radio crackle. _"Raptor 556 IFF confirmed. Actual will meet you on the deck as soon as you land."_

"Confirmed Hephaestus, Raptor on approach."

"Call the ball, Lt."

"I have the ball, on final approach."

"You're all heart you know that Buckshot."

"You're too kind."

The Raptor cut speed as it entered the gaping doors of the cruiser's single hanger bay. The ships of this class were still equipped with the manual landing systems that characterized the older fleet ships. As befit its original use as a training ship the Hephaestus had never had the full service extension refit that the newer ships had been through. Even with its assignment back into the main fleet, there hadn't been time to fully refit the vessel with the upgraded DRADIS or FTL.

Dropping to the deck the Raptor was lowered into the lower sealed bays below the landing bay itself. Half of the Raptor squadron was already in the bays being refit and refueled before beginning another run into the unexplored sectors. Rolling to a halt the two crewmembers yanked open the doors exiting the craft. They found the ship's captain already awaiting them.

"Report Lt," ordered Colonel Draman.

"We've found one Sir, an inhabitable planet about a half dozen light years from here," Buckshot spoke up. "It's Caprica type in humidity and temperature as well as about the same size but more than that Sir… it's inhabited."

"Inhabited? A Tau'ri world this close to the colonies?"

"Not from the scans we took, sir. Whilst we didn't get much, we do know there's no advanced technology being used that we can detect. It looks to be an agrarian or proto-technological society," Helo said. "We couldn't get much more than that with the systems on the Raptor."

"There are only thirteen known inhabited worlds and those belong to the thirteen tribes, you are absolutely sure it's not an abandoned world?"

"No sir, it's intact, inhabited and possibly of strategic use," Buckshot replied. "We need a more advanced scout to take full readings, Sir. If possible we'd like to go back out there when the scout goes back."

"Alright, you found the planet you get to examine it. We'll have one of the spare crews take your Raptor out to the next group of systems," the Colonel agreed. "You're the first to find an inhabitable world in the entire squadron, congratulations."

"Thank you, Sir."

"Get some rest it'll be a few days before we get anything back from command. Until then, consider yourselves off duty."

_**President's Offices**_

_**Caprica City**_

_**Caprica**_

Richard Adar sat alone in his office trying to relax just for a moment or two. The stress of the last few weeks had been unprecedented to the career politician. During his term of office he had been forced to cut a number of budgets to the bone and forcibly stop a number of strikes through both threats and use of armed force to break up the riots that inevitably followed the crack downs he had enacted. All the colonies had undergone a renaissance and an improved economy unprecedented since before the Articles of Colonization. His position as a great President had been all but assured…until the arrival of an unknown vessel had caused every plan he had in mind to be thrown out. That one appearance had seemed to be a blessing in disguise for Adar. If he could have been the one to reunite all thirteen tribes he would be known as a great leader for all time.

The wholesale refusal of the humans from Earth to agree to join the colonies as a member under the Quorum had been irritating. The fact that these people were technologically more advanced if only by a few decades had made bringing the Tau'ri, as they called themselves, more than necessary for his plans. However any attempt that was made to force the Prometheus into surrendering had been stopped by the incredible defensive and offensive systems the warship had used. It may have looked primitive but as he reread the first contact reports he could see the ingrained prejudice inherent within the military.

Apparently the Tau'ri had increased the size of their fleet and had apparently accelerated their technology curve beyond anything that the Colonial fleet even dreamed of in R&D. The years of work and improvements in the weapons and equipment of the Colonial fleet had come to nothing. His great plans were unraveling as quickly as his people were losing patience. His spiel about the humans being kept in check by their Tau'ri overlords had helped in that respect somewhat but he was fast running out of time.

"Mr. President the quorum representative from Picon is here to see you again," his assistant said through the intercom. "They insist to see you this time Sir and seem to be in quite a state." A pause: "should I have the Senator escorted from the building?"

"No, Miss Alexander. Have her escorted in." Adar switched the intercom off. "Might as well get this over with," he said to himself.

The doors opened and the young redhead escorted in a dark suited middle aged woman, the woman's stern demeanor and grey hair making him think paradoxically of a schoolteacher and hence his affair with Laura Roslyn. Putting that out of his mind he stood up and gestured to the seat in front of the desk. The woman merely sneering at the man as she took her seat. Adar sighed. He knew she hadn't taken her loss to him in the elections well and it looked like it might just get worse.

"Doctor Walkins."

"Mr. Adar," the Senator said simply deliberately leaving off the honorific. Her demeanor hadn't changed since she sat down and it didn't seem that anything he would do would make a difference.

"So what can I do for you, Doctor?"

"First, I want to know why it's taken me almost two weeks to get an audience with you when you've known I've been trying to find out what is going on with the survivors of the desecration of our world."

"I've have been busy, Doctor. My time is limited to a normal Caprican day and in case you haven't noticed I am the President and as such I have a lot of things that occupy my time." His not so subtle poke bounced unheeded off of the woman. "As such I can't be expected to drop everything at the drop of a hat simply to talk to one person. Now I have given you this opportunity to say what you need to."

"Very well." She sneered again. "What is going to happen to the people that are being evacuated from Picon and why aren't you doing more to get the people off that have been left down there after the catastrophe that the military were unable to stop? More than two thirds of our population survived the first few days yet not more than a small percentage of the survivors have been pulled off of the surface."

"Well for a start Senator, I am well aware of what is happening both on and around Picon at the moment. I have already dispatched over a thousand ships from the fleet and the civilian side of the defense force. More are being requisitioned from the other colonies as we speak, but we only have so much lift capacity and so much in the way of resources to house those we manage to save." Adar looked at the woman carefully gauging her reaction to his statements and the ones about to follow. "I have been informed that a good percentage of the people on Picon will not be able to be saved. The radiation contamination and diseases that seem to be cropping up since the attack has left a large percentage of your population dead or dying. Within the next few days we will have to cease operations completely. By that point no one left on that planet will survive more than a few weeks anyway. We don't have the facilities to save the entire population of Picon no matter how much we wish we could."

"There are more than two billion people still on our planet! Less than a billion have been saved since the incident happened. You can't leave them all down there to die, you just can't!"

"Senator, the fleet is stretched as it is just defending our borders. Until the remains of the redemption fleet make it back we can only do so much. Even if we had every warship and civilian ship in the colonies bringing people up we wouldn't be able to save many more than we will have. I'm sorry but that's just the way it is," Adar said dispassionately. "The major problem is also that we don't have the resources to house the majority of a planet's population without some serious changes to the economies of the remaining eleven worlds, changes that will make it even more difficult to defend the colonies from the Tau'ri."

"Stow it Adar. I'm well aware that there is enough to house the people that are being displaced on the other worlds and that there are plans already in place in case something happens to one of the colonies. The difference here is that a massive number of ships that would have been used to transfer those people are gone because of your arrogance," Walkins snarled. "The fact that a good section of the remaining fleet is standing by around the other colonies simply sitting there waiting for an attack that by all accounts we couldn't stop anyway. That action is leaving hundreds of millions to die because you think more of your campaign and your creditors than you do for the colonies."

"You quite finished, senator?"

"I've barely begun, Adar," she said riling the man again. "But I know that you will decide to have me removed simply for saying what you don't want to hear. I am not here to make a noise about my opinions, Adar. I am here to save as many of my people that we can and not simply use what little you care to scrape together. There are enough ships in orbit of this planet alone to being up another ten thousand an hour if not more. What's more you know that it would take only minutes to get those ships back from the rescue effort…"

"Senator," Adar interrupted. "At this moment in time I have eleven other planets to protect. As such as I must save as many people from Picon as I can. I don't have the resources to do so since the loss of the anchorage and so many ships docked there! Those plans you are spouting off about were designed with the majority of the fleet intact and on the move. The loss of over two hundred ships greatly hampered our ability to do so. Much as I would like to help, I have in excess of twenty billion other people to think of. Those ships that are orbiting those planets are the first line of defense for many of those worlds until more orbital units can be put in place."

Adar was considering his words carefully around his old rival. She had been a thorn in his side ever since she lost the election by what she claims had been a set up by the political parties. As much as things had changed since the amalgamation of the colonies into one body, sexism was still rife amongst several of the worlds leading to problems for women in the government and the military.

Since his inauguration he had managed to quell most of the rumors of his appointment to President by increasing the numbers of originally undesirables into positions of power. His work to get women Admirals into the higher ranks of the forces were paying off already and would continue to do so as long as he wanted them to. But a few of his rivals and outright enemies were making problems for him.

"So the fact that those ships can jump anywhere in the system in less than a second means nothing then?"

"Enough Diana," he snapped. "As much as you hate me I know you don't think I won't have done everything possible to save those people. The very heart of the matter is that I don't have the time or manpower to redeploy the fleet. Hell, I don't have the overall authority to do so either. The Quorum and the joint chiefs hold the reins on this one not me."

Adar sighed as he leaned back, the sudden vulnerability surprising the Senator into silence. A flicker of sympathy flared up, not quite being as she passively sat. She may have hated the man but she did realize that not all of the major decisions were made by the President, and that he was as trapped by the rules as any person in the Colonies, more so than most in fact.

"I've drafted an emergency action plan. All the major transport companies and anyone with a large passenger liner is going to be pulled in to take the load off of the Battlestars and other warships when and as they can. We'll get everyone we can off Diana but we can't get everybody, if we had another week or two maybe we would have."

"And this virus that's going around?" she asked referring to the illness that was sweeping through the people of Picon's refugee camps.

"A simple allergic reaction to something that the attack has put into the atmosphere, dust and microbes most likely," he said. "I've been reliably informed that it won't effect more than a few percent of the people on Picon or the ships that have been assigned to the planet," he continued. "I've been around a number of people from the fleet and the planet and I'm as healthy as a horse."

"I see."

"I know you're worried about your people Diana, so am I. I'd be devastated if Caprica had been hit like this. But I assure you that your people will keep their position within the twelve colonies and you will stay in the Quorum as their legally appointed representative."

"This will destroy the Picon culture, Adar. We're going to be scattered across the entire system. We'll never be able to keep ourselves separate."

"Is that such a bad thing?" he asked. "We're one people now Senator ever since the charter was signed by the colonies fifty years ago. Sooner or later we will end up as one huge melting pot of people and cultures. Until then this may be what we need to begin a real joining of the twelve colonies as a whole people, and think Senator. You're going to be one of those remembered as a leader of your people in a time of great need and great sacrifice."

"Nice try Adar," she replied. "It's still too little too late to save a lot of people. If you had deigned to do this a week ago then maybe it would mean something." The senator's defenses rose again as she realized she was being played. The President had overplayed his hand and she wanted nothing to do with whatever schemes Adar planned to use to influence the public.

"You allowed this war to begin because of your wish to cement yourself with power and history as a great leader," she told him. "Well congratulations, you have managed to make yourself one of the most famous people in Colonial history. I only hope that you can manage to survive this catastrophe in the making. It would be a shame for you to disappear before you can be put on trial. You alone brought this on my world and I personally believe this is only the beginning."

A seemingly serene Adar sat unmoved by her outburst as the Senator rose from her seat and walked out of the door. The moment she left, Adar deflated slightly as his strength drained. The recent few days had been taking their toll on his strength and this latest failure to turn this catastrophe into an advantage was just another in a string of failures that the president could ill afford.

The only true victory he had was the imminent arrival of the last of the massive ship formations that were returning from the debacle at Earth. The remaining commanders of that attack would be sent for immediately as soon as their ships docked with whichever of the remaining anchorages they were assigned to. With luck he would be able to salvage some of his standing.

After all who cared about a few failed Commanders?

_**Ten Downing Street**_

_**London**_

_**United Kingdom**_

The red phone on the Prime Minister's desk trilled. The direct link to the President of the United States had been used more in the last few weeks than it had in the decade and a half since the end of the Cold War. Murray was unsurprised at the phone call as he was expecting more information from Hayes on the movement of supplies from the Hebridan fleet in orbit.

"Hello, Henry."

"Alex, turn on the news now."

"What?"

"CNN News, we've got a hell of a problem."

Flicking on the television in the corner BBC news 24 was running an emergency broadcast of some kind. Turning up the sound Murray understood what had got the President of the United States in such a state. Film footage of Cheyenne Mountain and a number of soldiers in and around the area was shown with protestors and film crews scrambling around the edges of the perimeter.

"…unconfirmed however it appears that the Project Blue Book disclosure was a partial cover for what has been described as a military experiment involving an alien device known as a Stargate. This so-called Stargate Command has been at the forefront of a multi planetary conflict between the forces of the Goa'uld and those opposed to the system lords. At present little information has been released on this project but it is known that General Jonathan O'Neill and Doctor Daniel Jackson, both well known members of the Blue Book disclosure team were in fact amongst the first to use this Stargate for travel off Earth."

"It is also known that more than two hundred news agencies and networks across the world were informed of this by a so far unknown member of the public, as of this report. Embassies of a number of the IOA countries are being inundated with demands of explanation from those countries that were not only unaware about the Stargate program but from their own public at large as well."

Slamming down on the mute button Murray hit the speakerphone button. "What the hell, Henry?"

"I don't know Alex, but every major news channel in the world is running this; yours, ours, the Russians, hell even the Middle East are broadcasting this. From what we can tell they've got hold of mission reports, personnel files even the doctrine the SGC is working under."

"How up to date is the stuff they are showing?" Murray asked

"At least within a year or so. There's little to no information leaked about the current command staff at the SGC so whoever it is doing this only had access up till maybe a year ago."

"Shit, alright. I'll convene a joint houses meeting for tomorrow. What exactly are we going to say about this Henry?"

"I'm calling the senate together tomorrow, the whole truth this time Alex." Hayes sounded fatigued. "I'm calling in Generals West, Hammond O'Neill and Landry, the Hague can whistle for all I care. With luck having people that commanded the SGC might help with the problems that are bound to crop up."

"Better you than me Henry. I've just got to explain why we didn't tell people about it when we found out about it, you've got it much worse than we have."

"You're all heart, Alex."

"Glad to help and have you talked to Dimitri yet?"

"Not yet."

"You better do so because if this is any indication, he's next on the block. They've known about this and have had a gate before unlike the rest of us. If they are then he'll have trouble with more than just the public at large."

"Yeah I hadn't thought of that." Hayes rubbed his eyes. "If it gets too bad down there we'll pull the Korolev and 302s back to an allied base, speaking of which..."

"The Falklands base is under construction, and we're actually ahead of schedule thanks to the Asgard beaming tech we've been lent," Murray replied. "We'll probably be able start production of the next ship as soon as we get the materials through, but it depends on if we have any problems. The Argentineans have been making noises, especially considering you turned them down again."

"Great, another damn problem."

"We've transferred another full squadron of Typhoons down there until we've got the 302s in full production," Murray sighed. "I'm seriously hoping they don't push this again Henry, not with the Ajax almost complete."

"Afraid you'll have to use her?"

"It's bad enough taking on the Colonials, but our own people…. As if I haven't had enough with yet another of those free rights for the Colonials groups. I'll have to do something about that as well."

A flicker on the television caught Murray's eye. Grabbing the remote he turned the sound up so that the reporter could be heard. In the background a video had begun showing a number of faces recognizable to Murray and Hayes from the SGC database.

"…_of deaths caused by the actions of the SGC not only off world but within their own ranks. Already members of the public and the armed forces are making enquiries about the losses of men and women to a number of training accidents or for other more classified reasons._

_It is believed that yet more of the accidents that have claimed lives over the last ten years maybe been directly contributed to by Stargate Command including the loss of an entire American Nuclear Carrier Group and a Russian nuclear submarine off of the American coast. There has been no response from Capitol Hill, Red Square, or the House of Commons on the footage being broadcast. Updates will continue as more of the information is gathered and edited for broadcast…"_

Silence reigned on the other end of the phone as Hayes watched the news program. The deaths of the entire Nimitz Battle Group was possibly one of the closely held secrets within the military. The public were already wary at the fact that the American government had never suitably explained the loss of thousands of servicemen and billions of dollars of military equipment in a single day.

Likewise the loss of a Russian nuclear sub close to American waters had been hushed on both sides by agreement. The political fallout from the destruction of said sub by the American Air Force could have had repercussions across both major powers. Since disclosure the other countries had been able to gain access to these records and while all three of the other major IOA countries had agreed to keep it a secret some were wary of the way that this had been hushed up.

Whoever had been capable of informing the world at large of the Stargate program had access to everything that the SGC had been thought could do just about anything. If this was just the tip of the iceberg then the entire SGC and the IOA as a whole could be fatally compromised.

"Oh, shit."

"Henry, we've got a real problem…."

_**Prisoner of War Camp**_

_**Cylon Annex**_

_**Unknown Island**_

"Reporting as ordered, Sir."

"Hello Satterfield, been a while. Congratulations on the promotion." Daniel smiled at the young Asian American woman. He had met her five years beforehand as a freshly minted Lt undergoing basic SGC training. Her team had beaten SG1 at their own game by doing precisely what they should have done… cheat.

"Yes, Sir."

"Sit down, Captain. I'm not military as you know."

She smiled as she relaxed. "Sorry Dr Jackson, its pretty much habit now."

"I've heard. I'm not a soldier no matter how many times someone in the air force tries to reel me in," Daniel smirked.

"So why have I been called Dr Jackson. SG 14 was on the mission list to P9X 773?"

"Yeah, sorry about this but we've hit a bit of a block with the Colonial prisoners. We needed you here to check out a few things hence the tests before you arrived here. I've looked over your files Captain and I need to know do you have any family members go missing over the last ten years or so or a twin of some kind?"

"Sir?"

"I just need to know Satterfield, has any member of your family been missing for any appreciable amount of time that you can remember?"

"Not that I know of. My parents died when I was sixteen. I have an older brother in Washington and a few cousins but no-one that I know of that went missing." Satterfield frowned. "Is something wrong Doctor Jackson because I really can't shake the feeling that something, somewhere is going to bit me on the ass."

Turning the screen around on the desk, Daniel activated a feed into one of the cells. This cell contained a number of Colonial prisoners of different genders and racial features. Satterfield gasped as two of the faces turned to each other revealing extremely familiar features for the young woman.

"That's impossible."

"That's what I thought at first. You've been under observation by the Asgard and home world security since we discovered these prisoners. It turns out a number of these people are dead ringers for people not only here on Earth, but off-world as well. We don't know how or why but there are more and more people appearing that resemble known allies and enemies," Daniel said. "That's why you're here."

"What?"

"This isn't an order in any way, but they want to have you go and meet your doubles and talk to them. A lot of these people are scared or wary or us and they will probably be as surprised about you as you are about them."

"This really isn't a joke, is it?"

"Sorry Captain, those women are the real deal," Daniel sympathized. "If it helps we've all been through something like this before, copies of ourselves both real and artificial. But then again these people are both so I'm not sure exactly how to approach that myself."

"So you want me to go in there talk to them, try to get information?"

"Not yet," he replied. "Just get to know them, they should take to you better than most of us, they call themselves the Number eight model of twelve, all different to the others. We've identified at least five possibly more. We're still checking that out. One or two look like other people we've met over the years, but I really wouldn't ask about some of the others though Jack almost had a nervous fit when he saw them."

"Sounds ominous."

"As paranoid as Jack is this time he might be right."

"Ok then, so when do I go in."

"Now, if possible."

The doors to the compound opened up slowly admitting a number of armed marines brandishing zat weapons or rifles. The assembled Cylon humanoids looked up as the human they knew as Daniel Jackson walked into the room towing a new arrival behind him. The Threes gasped as they noticed the face on the woman behind him and their reaction caused the rest of the Cylons to gaze at the newcomers.

"Sorry to interrupt," Daniel began.

"Quite alright Doctor," Gina said. "I see that there is more to this than meets the eye."

"Captain Gina Knight, Captain Emily Satterfield."

"Hi," Satterfield spoke up.

"How is this possible?" One of the eights walked up, the look of shock on her face a mirror of that on Emily's face as she approached the Cylon woman. A quick look to the side allowed the others of her type to get a good look at the woman's face. "You are a sister yet you are not one of us, not of the Cylon race. How can you look so much like us?"

"Not a clue," Emily answered. "I was called in to find out of there was any way a Cylon could have been on Earth since before we met the Colonials. I'm as human as anyone is. I just kind of look like you."

"Kind of?" Gina asked incredulously. "You are almost a carbon copy of our sisters. This should not be possible without being engineered into that form yet you are a natural human of the same exact specifications. Are you the only one of your people that look like us?"

"I don't know," answered Satterfield. "I've not really been told anything more than I look like the number eights, there could be others that look like you all around here but I wouldn't know. None of you look like anyone that I know although there are similarities to a few people in the SGC's records."

"So there might be others – this is unprecedented."

"If you want to I'm willing to stay and get to know some of you better."

"That would be alright with your superiors?"

"Actually half my superiors would shit a brick and the other half would probably try top lock me up or shoot me. But I want to know how and why we look so alike and just how we might find some common ground. I'm no diplomat but still I'd like to talk."

"That is more than acceptable siste… Lieutenant."

Daniel excused himself from the gathering of Cylons as they approached the young Captain, heading away from the assembled human types he reentered the main compound the doors sealing behind the marine guards. Awaiting him, Davis and Teal'c were watching the conversations between the two sides.

"Colonel Davis, nice to see you."

"You too Doctor Jackson. I'm here to brief Teal'c on the latest from the Jaffa council. What do you think of our 'guests'?"

"Harmless for the moment, Satterfield's managed to confound them for now. Damn thing is I know two of the others are identical to people we've met on other worlds, both friendly and hostile."

"Indeed."

"Who exactly? All the information we have is that they are genetically enhanced and created purely from manipulated DNA."

"There's only a finite number of DNA strands that can be created. It's inevitable that sooner or later close replicas of people would turn up on other planets. I'm just surprised to see some that are clear cut clones of those people we know, especially considering one was Jaffa and one was here on Earth."

"So we're looking at a random amalgamation of genes that just happens to look like the Lieutenant out there?"

"There's no way that they are clones of the people we've seen so far, there's just too many differences in the DNA structures. They just happen to be very close enough for them to look externally like others. But a simple DNA or blood test would let us know that these people aren't human. Our biggest problem would be if there are more than the seven of them out there, at the moment we know that they can't pass through any of our scans without tripping them…"

"But?" Davis asked

"We have to be actively looking for them and none of the ships we have in orbit have the ability to read every person on the planet. We've begun scanning every person in any way attached to the SGC or the planetary defense companies, nothing yet so far but we still have to check anyway especially in Satterfield's case.."

"I do not believe there to be any others on Earth at this time." Teal'c spoke up tightly. "With the last of the humanoid Cylons within the Colonial fleet discovered we have them all. There were no escape pods tracked to Earth and there has been no contact with the Twelve Colonies since the first contact three years ago. The Cylons seem to be as much in the dark as the Colonials are and as such I do not think that we have to be wary of infiltration."

"Still doesn't hurt to be prudent," Daniel responded. "We've already seen members of teams infiltrated by Goa'uld. This could be just as bad."

"Indeed."

"Alright, we'll keep an eye out for anybody that could be a Cylon but it'll be all but impossible to find one if it doesn't want to be found let alone caught," Davis said. "For now though I need to talk to Teal'c the Jaffa are being strangely helpful…"

_**Orilla**_

_**Asgard Empire**_

_**Ida Galaxy**_

The entire assembled council sat in silence as the recordings flickered to a close, a final sequence frozen in plain view as lines and entire sections of code flashed red or amber. Dotted amongst those lines them a very few black dots staring back amongst the flashing lights.

"Then it is true."

"Apparently."

"There is not enough undamaged information left the virus has infiltrated all but the very advanced genetic lines within the Asgard race, not even enough to recreate even one of our people."

"What are our choices?"

"None, the damage caused is too extensive."

"We have no recourse."

"Then we will put into effect the final project." 

"Yes, we will soon be unable to even travel between the galaxies without the loss of those we send. The Supreme Commander of the fleet shall be our link to the humans for the moment, those few that are still marginally intact will have to continue on. Until the project is done the rest of us we shall have to limit ourselves to our own space."

"The Commander's exposure to the humans could be a problem, he is almost enamored with their people and his beliefs in their destiny. If the project is to go ahead we must have safeguards to ensure the technology will not be used of ill gain or by those that would use it against our wishes."

"That will be difficult but possible."

"And what of the worlds we protect?"

"They will be safe for now. With the destruction of the Goa'uld Empires and the Replicators most of those worlds will be left alone. Those worlds that can't will become those that shall be protected by our successors."

"You believe them to be ready?"

"The Commander does and I am beholden to agree with him. The humans are a young species but have done enough to take their rightful place as the first of the new," the third said. "I will begin preparations for the transfer immediately."

"Very well, good luck Freyr."

Freyr took his leave from the high council chambers leaving the remaining members of the council in deliberation. It was unknown why it had taken so long to find the genetic abnormality that had entered the Asgard genome but the oversight had now cost them what remained of their existence.

Walking unhurriedly through the corridors of the council building, Freyr felt the presence of his old friend as he approached. Thor walked alongside the other Asgard in silence. Their years as comrades and friends had allowed both an empathy with the other. While it was impossible for any Asgard to have any form of telepathic ability, the knowledge of each other's body language and facial nuances allowed the Asgard to read each other's thoughts almost as easy as a telepath.

"Then it's true."

"The project will go ahead old friend," Freyr replied. "The full recall will go into effect as of tonight. We have a very short time in which to ready ourselves and the humans of Earth."

"The project will go ahead, it will take time but we will be ready," Thor replied. He stopped and looked around. "It is a shame to end this way, for so many years we have watched over the known universe. Perhaps we should have listened to the other races as they ascended."

"If we had listened then we may well have fallen foul of the same mistakes that they made."

"However in doing so we have made our own. Our race will die and we will not be able to join the Alterans or any of the older races through Ascension," spoke Thor spoke. "Perhaps then it is merely our place to help the humans. If we will not be able to leave behind a legacy such as the Ancients had then maybe our own legacy will be those we have helped and those we leave in our stead."

"Perhaps. If so, then we need to continue with the project as quickly as possible," Freyr said.

"How long do we have?"

"Unknown, but we do not believe that we have much more than ten years at current degradation. We will be unable to stop the destruction of our race completely therefore all effort will be transferred to the technology projects. What is the status of the fleet?"

"With this news the fleet will cease to construct the ships we have already begun. The fleet itself will finish being recalled within the next few weeks. I suppose we are quite fortunate in some ways for the replicators because their depletion of our forces mean that we shall not have trouble recalling those ships," continued Thor. "I am leaving the ships we have given to the humans with them. Their technology is capable of deciphering the more basic systems for now."

"With the completion of the project, this will not matter. Their ability to emulate and improve on technologies they should not know of will help them. They will need every advantage they have to take our place as the guardians of the three galaxies."

"Thor: They are still young but are more than capable Freyr and are now more than ever the fifth race. I have spent quite some time over the last decade with the people of Stargate Command. They have always been there to assist us in our time of need. Once we are gone the humans will no longer have a powerful ally as we ourselves did not. We owe them much."

"They fight amongst themselves both on Earth and between the human races of the galaxy," Freyr responded. "But I have to agree, the council has approved the plan you have set forth regarding the human's war between Earth and these twelve colonies. We will not assist their war unless our hand is forced. We will see if your faith in Jack O'Neill and his brethren is warranted."

"I believe it will be enough, however we will have to decide on more than just the simple transfer of our information to the humans." Thor turned to his friend. "Can your scientists improve upon our technologies to the very limit in the time we have left?"

"What do you mean?"

"Can you improve on our technologies, defensive, weaponry, sensors, hyperdrive, anything that we can enhance to its fullest potential?" Thor bowed his head. "It will also need to small enough and efficient enough… to install on the humans' Daedalus class ships."

"The council will not agree to this, Thor. You have pushed their patience to the edge several times in the past. We agreed to the project as the humans will require any assistance we can gather but this goes far beyond simple help and into an arena that I do not believe they are ready for let alone be able to use. Records garnered from their own systems have proved that they have lost control of their ships to outside forces several times," Freyr warned. Are we to allow them access and control of the most powerful weapons and defenses in multiple galaxies?"

"Many times they have lost control of those ships because they do not have the technology or the resources to stop those attacks. Once we have refitted at least a single one of their ships then they will be more capable of holding the enemy at bay. Their lack of power is as much our own fault as theirs."

"We kept our involvement in their affairs to that level in order to safeguard their world. We kept to within the specifications of the Protected Planets treaty in order that the Goa'uld did not target those worlds we could no longer protect."

"The treaty is no longer in effect, Freyr. It has not been for some time. Every breach of the treaty gave us leeway we could exploit and the council would not allow it even after the fact. It was a gross betrayal of our allies within the human's world to do so. That is why I wish to leave them with whatever we can give them, be it technology or information."

"It sets a dangerous precedent, Thor. The Alterans and the Tollan both made the mistakes of allowing their most powerful technologies into the hands of those that were not ready for it. Even you have only had the barest of contact with those humans and many of them are with Stargate Command themselves. This will not by any means allow you to know how and what will be done with any technology that we give them.

"Anything we give them will be kept classified by those that use it. None of the people of their world can afford a conflict of any sort that would cause their subjugation by these Colonials. The Tau'ri are a very capable and very imaginative race. What is more many of them have a code of ethics and edicts of honor that outweigh their more hostile tendencies."

"I do not believe that they are ready for this, but either way the Asgard will not be responsible for whatever happens next. Our time will have come and gone and we will be little more than myth within a few generations. Our own actions have already damned us in the eyes of ourselves and several of our allies," Freyr conceded. "I will approach the council with this plan even with my misgivings, I will let you know their answer as and when I can."

"Then that is all I can ask old friend."

_**Battlestar Pegasus**_

_**Twenty Light Years Spinward**_

_**Unclaimed Space**_

"Colonel?"

"Admiral"

"How bad?

"Bad Sir. That last shot from that unknown ship blew a hole into the ventral hull and out through the dorsal. The angle of entry managed to cut the main power links between the forward and main hulls, it also killed the primary couplings to the jump coils. We were lucky we were able to jump with the power already in the system, a second or so earlier and we would have been dead either way."

"What about the other ships?"

"Only two of our escorts managed to make it back here. The others are confirmed dead or have jumped out elsewhere. We haven't a clue where any of the other ships are at this time."

"Any good news?"

"Environmental and sublight systems are all available as is main power to the forward sections, the backups in the rear are keeping the crew alive but we're going to have to bring everyone forward while we can. Problem is that we need to rebuild the entire power distribution systems and reinforce the damaged hull in order to even get the ship moving again."

"So we have what we need on board to do so?"

"No, Sir. We'll have to take apart the sections we need to from the cruisers. Unfortunately we'll have to scrap at least one of the cruisers to do so. I recommend we remove anything of use to those ships and scrap the Pegasus..."

"No," Cain Interrupted.

"Admiral?"

"We're not scrapping the Pegasus, even if we have to take apart both cruisers we are keeping this ship as intact as we can. It's the flagship and as such we must not allow the Tau'ri to take her apart, we rebuild this ship and we take the fight back to the enemy."

"With all due respect Sir, that's crazy. The Pegasus has taken an incredible amount of damage in both battles with the Tau'ri. T he strategic and tactical advantage would be to keep the cruisers intact and to remove what we can from the Pegasus, our armament is gutted and our personnel down by over half. No fighters and no real chance of getting home anymore."

"We aren't going home, Colonel."

"Sir?"

"We're staying out here. There's almost no chance of getting home and by now the first of the stations will have been destroyed by their crews during the retreat back home. We need to keep the Tau'ri on their toes and we have more chance of keeping their attention with a Battlestar than with a pair of heavy cruisers. They may be from another world old friend but they think in much the same way we do. We have to get the Pegasus up and running again, everything we can strip from one of the cruisers will be used to repair and upgrade this ship."

"Helena, we already know that the rest of the fleet have managed to escape. With the technical advantage the Tau'ri have we're out gunned, out numbered and outclassed. With their technology we won't get another chance like we just had. Even if we do stay out here we don't have the fuel, water or supplies for a protracted deep space engagement."

Cain was already well aware of the dearth of equipment and supplies that could put a stop to any campaign she wanted to wage. The majority of the perishables had been in the sections destroyed by the alien energy weapon leaving only the algae tanks and the solid rations. The water processors had been all but destroyed in the original engagement. The entire crew was already on severe rations in both food and water. The intact cruisers were siphoning off the excess supplies they had aboard to the Battlestar in a bid to keep the ship intact and its crew alive.

The plan to keep the ship intact by salvaging a perfectly capable heavy cruiser was foolhardy to the Colonel's eyes. But he had trusted his old friend thus far he would continue to until she did anything to damage that trust. "In the three systems in the area we've scanned we've found deposits of water and ice, tropical and forested areas with possible food sources as well as a small asteroid almost totally composed of Tylium ore. There is enough available to feed all of our personnel for at least a few weeks. The tylium we can mine and refine but there won't be much more than a few dozen jumps worth. So either way we're not going back home anytime soon."

"It was a one way mission originally Helena, but a few of us finally escaped. It might be time to get at least some of our crews back home. Refueling one of the cruisers and equipping it with a few fuel pods would allow us to send them back to the outer edges of colonial space, at least close enough to get help."

Cain shook her head. She had been wracking her brains trying to find ways around their predicament but for the first time in her career she was at a total loss at how to keep their little group together and keep them alive. "We can't afford to lose the manpower or the supplies and fuel we would need to send them back. It will take any ship months to find their way to the border of Colonial space and that's with a fully functional cruiser. What's more we may need the firepower a heavy cruiser would give us in the future. Our ships stay together until we find what we are looking for then we go back. I'm sorry Jurgen. I know it's a hell of a drag on all of us, but we need to keep everyone together if we're to survive this."

"It's a hell of a risk to take Admiral," the Colonel said, "Without the rest of the fleet or any kind of supply train this kind of mission is dangerous at best and suicidal at worst. With the obvious technological superiority anyone that might be around here will be able to take us down without noticing."

"I know but until and unless we can find someway to bring our own technology up to par with the Tau'ri we're screwed either way. The Colonies are banking on our doing this old friend, I need you with me Jurgan. I need you with me until we come out of this the other end one way or another."

The Colonel conceded the argument. "You have me Helena. We'll find a way to do this."

"Then that's all I can ask old friend."


	10. Chapter Nine

Chapter Nine

Chapter Nine

_**Decommissioned Warstar**_

_**Alexandria Class**_

_**Nova Madigon Bone yards**_

The formally empty and silent Warstar was ablaze as its massive fusion reactors were fully powered up for the first time since it's unceremonious decommissioning several years beforehand. Aboard the old ship hundreds of security and naval personnel had begun screening the entire ship room by room looking for any more evidence of illegal activities. The two bays had been searched with a fine tooth comb, each room and locker gone over by forensics teams be the square inch and with the exception of the already uncovered evidence there was no sign of life or that anyone else had been on the ship. Sealed hatches were still locked down tight with the areas beyond still depressurized. The main concourses were barren and the security stickers still intact across the pressure doors and access ways.

Crews were still going through the upper decks piecemeal testing for both signs of habitation as well as beginning the start up sequences for the numerous systems that lay dormant. Life support however had been left until the forensics personnel had deemed it safe to restart. With the subsonic whine of ancient filters and generators, the air began to flow through the entire ship.

"So what do we have?" Colonel Georgiou of the Colonial JAG walked up to the closest of the teams. The four men had discarded their suits and were carefully cataloguing the armament that had been scattered over the shelves.

"Not good Sir, most of the stuff we've found has been put here sometime the last two years. Components and supplies for ships, raptors, even fighters, all of which is still counted under classified information. Someone's been building up anything they can to equip viper and raptor flights and keep them up to date with our best designs. Whoever is doing this has access to every ship in this yard and some of the surplus we keep in stores for recovery in case of war."

"What are we looking at?"

"Total security breaches across the board. They have access to information on the Mk 6 and a number of Mk 7 systems, raptor computers, missiles and the latest ECM available to the fleet. Whoever is doing this has everything they need to cripple our security and I can think of only two groups that would want this."

"Privateers and the Cylons."

"That's my thought, sir."

Giorgiou looked across the tagged and assembled equipment, While he was neither a combat soldier nor a pilot, he was well versed in a number of the more mundane and widespread systems in use by the armed forces. Most of the weapons and electronics were the same as any he had seen before, others he could only guess at what they were for. But that was for the forensic geniuses back at the Colonial JAG to figure out.

The privateers would love to get hold of the more advanced equipment that the Colonial Navy had disseminated throughout the fleet. The majority of their equipment was pre or even war era wrecks and surplus sold off, or stolen from the bone yards. However even against the newer ships in service, it was clear that the older equipment could hold its own. The loss of entire squadrons of contemporary fighters to privateer owned Cylon war era Mark Twos had proven that time and again. If the pirates and smugglers were able to upgrade their own ships with the newest and more powerful systems, then the system police and customs forces would have a serious problem on their hands. The fleet would by necessity be called in to keep the more advanced and numerous pirate bands in check. With Adar's attempts to strip down the Colonial forces followed by the losses already taken by the Crusade fleet this would be difficult at best and disastrous at worst.

Already a number of guard units had observed larger and better armed pirate and smuggler groups operating on the more little patrolled borders around the system. The black market was a well known and loose collection of gun runners, slavers and smugglers of everything that could exist. The tightly controlled R&D sections of the Colonial forces were amongst the more difficult to get equipment out from, which meant someone was helping them from the inside.

However overriding even that was the fear that the Cylons were behind the theft of classified technology was something that rebounded through his mind. There had been no evidence of the Cylons in almost forty years but with the robotic race's lack of innovation and imagination compared to the humans they would want access to any and all advanced technology that the Colonials could put together. If they had got hold of the more advanced equipment to come out of the R&D sections across the twelve colonies, then the fleet and the rest of the armed forces could be fatally compromised. If they were forced to fight the a Cylon force using their own technology, the outcome could well be much like the first war even with the advanced technology and the hopefully overwhelming numbers and combat capability the Colonial enjoyed.

Either way this was a hell of a security breach, the type of breach that could have gone for years before being found out if ever. Using an obsolete and useless warship in many eyes was the best place to run a limited black market racketeering racket like this, but it wasn't worth it the money involved would be laughable considering the danger of being caught. There was more to this than he was seeing but couldn't for the life of him figure out what it was.

"What about those others Sir?" a junior officer asked. "The Earth humans and those Tau'ri bastards would love to get hold of our best equipment. With all this stuff here hell they might even already have it. It would explain how they beat our fleet so quickly and so easily, they knew just where to hit us."

"They beat us Ensign because the idiots in charge thought we were better than the Tau'ri were and we got stuffed." The salvage chief piped up from the back, he walked up and addressed the Colonel. "Sir you might want to see this as well, I think that we might have something."

Nodding the Colonel left the team and headed into the corridor. Within a few seconds he was overcome with a smell that he hadn't been conscious of when he entered the room. Lying on the deck surrounded by another forensics team sat the remains of a dead body, its mangled carcass evident of extreme decompression and damage to both the extremities and the torso.

"We found him in a locker about ten minutes ago, body was all but folded up inside. Whoever this is was killed and probably left here simply because they couldn't be risk taking him. The slow decompression and later pressurization of the section destroyed a lot of the internal organs and ruptured cells throughout the body."

"Any idea who it was?"

"Not a clue, damage to the hands is too bad to get fingerprints or palm prints and whoever killed the poor sod did it by blowing a hole in his face, so no chances of identification through his dental work either. Whoever the poor bastard was he left here to rot literally, the locker was still pressurized and sealed down, all we know is brunette and male and that's due to observation of the few remaining intact parts we could identify."

"I could have done without knowing that, chief."

"Sorry, sir."

"We're going to have to cordon off the entire ship at this rate." The colonel rubbed his head. "Alright we'll keep this area locked down. We'll check the other ships before they are taken from the shipyard for any more evidence. The bosses are gonna be shitting bricks once they find out about this." Rubbing his forehead Georgiou turned away from the body. "Chief who's your best man?"

"Conoy, Sir. He's been assisting with the opening and sealing off of the other sections of the pods."

"Can you trust him?"

"Yes, sir, best man I've got. I'd trust him with anything I needed."

"Good, have him report to me in an hour on the site control ship. Anyone else?"

"Just Prior, but he's a big mouth at the best of times. Reliable though."

"Good, send him back to the bone yard's command station, tell them we need a full battalion of ground-pounders and another dozen forensics teams." He sighed. "Because something tells me this is going to be a very, very long day."

_**Joint Chiefs Briefing Room**_

_**NORAD Command**_

_**Cheyenne Mountain**_

"Since the inception of any form of navy in this country, command has always devolved to the Naval forces staff, the classifications of these ships under the Battlecruiser type means that you have already categorized them as naval vessels," snarked Admiral Jones. "The Air Force is not and never has had the authority or experience to capably operate a fleet of warships. Any naval vessel no matter its position on or off world should be the domain of the Navy and not the Air Force."

"Bullshit, the Air Force has been building and commanding these ships for the last four years, if anything the fact that most of our people are trained in aeronautics is a boon when it comes to combat in this setting. There is a hell of a difference between the use of ships in a two dimensional setting and those of spacecraft in three dimensions. Even the submarine crews would be lucky to understand half of the systems and training that the crews of these ships have to go through," Jumper shouted back. Calming down, the General straightened his jacket and composed himself. "The crews of those ships and the three crews already trained for the next batch of Daedalus class ships are the best in the country. The crews of our allied countries give us a pool for the foreseeable future. Even then we've got instructors and volunteers waiting for training. Our people are better suited to this than yours."

"So the Air Force gets to completely run the defences of the planet through their nice little fleet and, what happens when you find you don't have the personnel Jumper? There's only a finite number you can use on your ships and what then? Face facts General, when it comes to it you don't have the resources to keep these ships active full time with full crews."

"I'm not saying we can but right now we have more people than we have ships and will do for the foreseeable future. The Air Force put a hell of a lot on the line to get these things in the air and operational. We're not simply willing to hand over equipment we fought and died to produce, not to mention the training and funds put together to create that force," Jumper remarked. "Aerospace command is and always has been a domain of the Air Force and will continue to do so until we are ordered to relinquish command."

"How many people have you lost to the enemies through the gate General, a few hundred maybe a thousand? We've been sending marines, Seals and navy personnel through the gate with your teams and losing them just as much as you have. Your losses have been nothing compared to our loss of almost ten thousand sailors in the Nimitz group. You remember that Jumper, when we lost an entire battle group because your people couldn't hold up their end of the bargain?" the Admiral snarled.

"We had a single ship to fight with at that time and you know damn well we stood no chance, if it hadn't been for Air Force personnel we would all be dead or enslaved."

"If it wasn't for the Air Force General we wouldn't be in the shit we are in with whatever alien races we've been at war with as we wouldn't know anything about them," Jones snarled. "You've been using those damn ships and your fighter wings as if you were fighting simple large scale air battles. You know nothing about the realities of how to fight a real war using heavy ships and secondary craft. You are damn lucky you haven't lost every ship you have with the way you people work."

"We have the best we have flying those ships Jones, they are trained to the highest standard and are putting their lives on the line every time they take off. They have more than earned their places aboard those ships, I will not ask them to stand down just to let the Navy take over, you have no training and no experience in anything to do with starship operations or taking on the enemies we fight on an almost daily basis."

"And you have little to no clue on the proper technical, strategic or tactical uses of warships in fleet actions against other ships. You've called those monstrosities you build Battlecruisers even using the wrong terminology and prefix for the entire class for Christ's sake, a bunch of missiles and a few light guns does not make a warship especially not against the ships that you people have been fighting the last few years."

"We had a very small amount of time and limited resources, David. You know damn well we built what we had to just to make sure we could do whatever it was that was requested of us. Unlike you, we don't exactly have the luxury of vast numbers of ships and materials to dictate how and when a naval battle will go ahead. We have ships that can and have fought off numerous attacks on this planet and are more than capable of doing anything else that we have to do."

"With the consequences of being able to do nothing well, those ships barely classify as a cruiser class let alone a capital ship. Leave the real naval warfare to those who know how to do it, Jumper."

"Like hell I will, those ships belong to the Air Force and I'm damned if I hand them over to anyone without full presidential and joint chiefs authority, you want ships then build your own we've put too much effort and resources into this fleet to just give them to you because you think we've stepped on your toes. Get over it."

Across the table, General of the Army Erick Paulson was stifling a laugh at the antics of his two fellow officers. The argument had come round in a circle three times before he gave up counting. The closed door meeting meant that none of what was being said was on any official record, no other officers were around and the President had stayed well away from the 'conversation', something Paulson wished he had done.

"Well I think you're both idiots," he said finally jumping into the conversation. "Neither of your services have the experience or the knowledge to really know how to use any of the ships we have in use, no one has. Not one armed force in the world knows how to use space-going warships to their uppermost capability."

"What do you suggest then, take our cues from Star Wars?" asked a very cynical Admiral Jones.

"Not quite Admiral, You need to go back to the beginning look at the two sides of the argument. You use fighters and warships and work in two dimensions, the Air Force works in three dimensions but with much smaller craft and we use the same two and three dimensions for our craft but have no expertise in aeronautics at all. How can either of you think you can run a force that neither of you have any clue about?"

"We've been training and theorizing about this kind of warfare for years Erick. The crews of the fleet have rewritten the books again and again since we began fighting up there. My crews are more than capable of both their job and learning how to fight up there…"

"So can any of our people, Jumper. The fact is yes you do have the most experience in space combat and your people are readily able to learn what needs to be done. But you're an aerospace service not a naval service; what's more sooner or later you will run out of personnel that can be deployed in non-fighter or ground crew roles. Jones' people are experienced in the most advanced shipboard functions of a warship but have no real idea of space combat, sooner or later the two of you will end up being forced to co-operate by the senate or by circumstances so why not head it off right now?"

"Alright Erick I'll bite," Jumper said sitting down. "What's your plan?"

"Don't have one John, but the fact is the pissing match that you two have going will screw our chances of fighting back against these Colonials. The other countries involved in the build up have already sorted it out. Why the hell are you two still arguing about it? It not only makes the two of you look like idiots but it makes all our services look bad. So figure out what you're going to do and fast, otherwise I'll force the issue for you."

"The army doesn't have the experience or training to take command of those ships Erick. To train our people would take longer than simply training Air Force or Navy personnel." Jones was unsettled at Paulson's Smirk, "There is no reason at all that the Air Force would simply hand over the ships to…." He paused.

"Glad you agree David, so train up both forces as you need to. Neither of you have the necessary expertise so merge your units into something that will increase our chances of surviving this war to the end. Otherwise you might as well separate all our forces into three and fight individually taking more loses then we give. The Colonials have a twelve world resource base and possibly close to a thousand warships that they can use against us. If we can't even fight as one service of the United States how the hell can we expect the other countries on this planet to follow us? We might as well give command to the French or the Germans for all the good we'll be."

Both men sat down in their chairs, the air blown out of their sails by the deceptively calm tones of the Army General. The Air Force/Navy rivalry had existed for a very long time, one constantly trying to outdo the other then being leapfrogged by the other. For much of the time the Navy had been in control however in the recent years the Air Force had been increasingly the darling for the defence subcommittees.

However both had underestimated the army in this. While they could both take and hold the local space it would be Erickson and his compatriots in the ground forces. They would have more power than most thought when it came to the invasion of the Colonial sphere of influence. With no Gate in the colonies, the army would have to be carried by the fleet in specialist ships, ships that the army would have to sign off on both carrying capacity and those crews that would fly those ships.

"Alright Erick, you've got our attention, how do we do this?"

_**Colonial Command Defence Bunker**_

_**Outskirts of Colonial Defence Command**_

_**Picon**_

The fist crashed against his face again blood pouring from the wound as it reopened below his eye. The assault snapped his head across to the side wrenching his already broken collarbone roughly against itself. The agony was already familiar to the man. Since his incarceration he had been brutalized dozens of times only the bare minimum of first aid to keep him from dying of his injuries.

"Enough."

Admiral Corman strode up to the wretched figure hanging from the ceiling. At his command the lights went up to full stinging the eyes of his prisoner even through the swelling of his eyes. Corman coughed again head pounding with the effort, the illness was abating but he still felt like crap after three weeks. Turning to the other man he spoke in a once unfamiliar language to him, but a very familiar language to his prisoner.

"Alright Pilot, once again I'm going to ask you. What kind of bio-weapon were you carrying and how do we stop it?"

"William Fitzgerald, Flt Lt, Royal Air Force Eight-Zero-Zero-Nine-Four-Seven."

The Colonial Admiral nodding to the interrogator and Fitz braced himself for another hit. He fell to the floor more than surprised as his restraints were released. Slamming into the metal floor, every broken bone and injured organ protested in agony at their treatment. He lay on the floor gasping for air, the little light getting through to his eyes fading as his vision blanked out. Lying on the ground he struggled to regain his breath and his senses; exhaustion and pain had brought him to his very limit.

"Ok Flt Lt, I don't believe that this is a bio-weapon at all but simply an accident of some kind. You were brought here and through no fault of your own something you were carrying have infected a massive amount of our people. Considering you seem to only have a few of the lighter symptoms, I am guessing that whatever it is you are suffering from isn't as nasty back on Earth as it is here, maybe some kind of cold or fever that you could just shrug off," Corman spoke quietly. And he really did believe this. All evidence pointed in that direction. "The fact that a number of our people are surviving it means we should have an antivirus soon enough, but you could help save billions if you just tell us what it is and how to fight it."

"Fuck off," Fitz breathed. Right now he wished to god that he had had the plague instead of a mild case of the flu. He was expecting the punch to the face from one side but not the kick into the kidneys that followed. He felt one of his cracked ribs break fully under the onslaught. The beating stopped as quickly as it started with the upraised hand of Corman. The man brought a flask of water to Fitz's face and poured it over the British pilot's head the water cleared the blood and sweat and soothed the swelling.

"Your language was difficult to adapt to at first but I think I caught on quite well, the database your people provided was of immense help. Of course the pilots we managed to take prisoner all those years ago were quite helpful in this way. Once they understood that helping us would make their lives better they were more co-operative, just help us and this will all stop."

Coughing turned into choking as Fitz started to speak, the choking however turned into laughter. The pilot clutched his ribs and his injuries but was unable to stop laughing even as the pain grew.

The Admiral and his guards were perturbed at the reactions from the prisoner to Corman's words. The RAF officer started to wheeze as the pain overrode the humour Fitz felt at the absurdity of the other man's words. "You're trying to play good cop-bad cop with yourself in both parts. Christ, even Regan and Carter could have done better than that." He continued giggling, "You really need to learn how to update your repertoire big man. Yu haven't a clue just what you're in for now I just hope to see your face when the virus kills most of your population dead… DEAD."

Hysterics wracked the injured pilot as the last few strings of his control finally snapped, laughing and sobbing in humour and pain there was little that the Colonials could get out of him in this state. As proud as he could be even Corman knew when to cut his losses and surrender.

"Take him to the infirmary."

"Aye, sir," the guards replied, dragging him up by his arms heedless of the injuries the pilot had taken. The two guards dragged him from the room and down through the corridors of the underground bunker. It wouldn't be the first trip to the base's infirmary for Fitzgerald and it likely wouldn't be the last, sooner or later he would break or he would die. The Brit knew this but he couldn't give answers to questions he didn't know. The virus that was killing millions of Colonials couldn't have come from his ship. The rules of engagement had been military targets only, no biological or chemical weapons were even loaded aboard the Odyssey when she had launched.

"Oh this one again." Fitz had greyed out long ago and was on the verge on unconsciousness as he was dumped unceremoniously on the operating table, the pain exploded behind his eyes as his various in juries let themselves be known again. This time he didn't fight the darkness and passed out.

"I won't be able to keep simply repairing a few injuries each time you people do this, if you want the information before he dies you either allow me several weeks to fix his injuries or I use chemicals to get the information. You have that choice," she said. "Otherwise he'll still die and you'll have nothing."

"That is not our decision, Doctor."

"Then tell the Admiral to come and see me if he wants the prisoner to live or not. Personally I don't care what he says I will keep this man here until he is physically able enough to be interrogated again."

"The Admiral will not allow that, Doctor."

"It's very simple then, the Admiral can kiss my arse."

"It's your funeral, Doctor."

"Yeah whatever now get out, I have work to do." She dismissed the two guards without a care. "Frak, this guy's a mess."

"Maybe now we'll be given the time we need to find out how he's immune to this plague that's decimating Picon," one of the nurses said. "I'd feel sorry for the poor bastard if he hadn't been one of the ones to nuke the planet."

"Took the words out of my mouth, Graham. Alright, put him on a blood transfusion and plasma. We need to stabilize him before we try to set his bones or stitch the wounds. Also start a glucose mix and saline drip. They've not fed or watered the prisoner in a few days."

"Yes, Doctor."

Picking up a phone the Doctor dialled for the operating theatre. It seemed that the Earth-born was in need of some serious surgery. How he had lived for so long under the 'tender' care of Corman's brutal lackeys was a miracle as of itself. Resigning herself to watching over the patient the Doctor sighed. Sooner or later the pilot would be interrogated to death and her work would have been for naught, simply because he had the unfortunate luck to be taken prisoner.

"Doctor?" Another nurse turned into the room, his face terrified and quite pale. "You might want to see this."

"What?"

"There's been a news report, you… you better come see."

The large screen taking up one of the walls of the crew lounge was turned up. The screen was turned to the major Caprican new service one of the few signals that could get through the dust in the sky. Every one of the medical personnel and a number of officers and soldiers were crowded in the room.

"…We say again, the same illness that has infected a number of cities on the surface of Picon as well as the refugee ships has been confirmed across the surfaces of Caprica, Sagittaron, Leonis, and Gemenon. As of yet the death toll is unknown but has been estimated at over sixteen million with another thirty million infected, in response all inter-colonial traffic has been halted completely. Any ships attempting to leave the surface of any colony will be shot down on sight; I repeat no ships are to leave the surface of the colonies.

It is believed that the contagion is spread through contact and fluid contamination. For the moment, everybody is requested to stay within their homes. If they show any form of symptoms of the unknown illness they are to stay within their house at all times and contact the authorities…."

"Oh frak," the Doctor said. "I think we're going to need help down here.

_**Supply Station Luxor**_

_**Colonial Supply Station**_

_**One jump from Colonial Border**_

Adama looked through the thick plastic sheeting separating him from the harsh cold of deep space. The combined fleets had merged as each of the jumps increased their number as evacuation ships and supply convoys huddled under the protection of the rapidly dwindling number of Colonial warships.

Staring from the window he watched as yet another of the massive Battlestars was stripped of anything of use. The Pacifica class Heliopolis had been one of the worst off of the damaged ships during the aborted invasion. Already crippled with the loss of half its engines and an entire fighter pod from a close range burn from one of those fantastic Tau'ri nukes, the Heliopolis was finally giving up the ghost as its FTL drives all but burned themselves out.

All along the line Raptors, salvage shuttles and suited crewmen were cutting off or ripping out entire sections of damaged ships, some of which were under repair using those same sections the rest being towed to the inevitable scrap pile that seemed to exist every time they stopped at one of the stations.

Five weeks of jumps and exhaustive rests had pressed hard on the crews. Constant code ones before and after every jump was grating on even the most hardened of veterans. The voyage to the last of the chain stations had been the longest and harshest of the five jumps. The exact co-ordinates had been calculated by the remaining Mercurys in the fleet and although the entire fleet had made it through many more of the damaged and half-salvaged ships had given up completely.

Computer systems shut down as their silicon cores overheated and blew. Electrical conduits burned out as the damaged shielding simply gave in. No casualties were caused by the collapsing systems on the damaged ships fortunately but it had been a close run thing aboard some of the escort ships. However a number of vessels were caught as their fuel supplies or damaged munitions bunkers finally surrendered to the ravages of the multiple jumps, all going up in massive brief fireballs. The Valkyrie had been forced to seal up her hanger bays and shuttle her remaining vipers to one of the already overcrowded fighter capable ships, the resulting space had allowed for the disaster pods to accommodate the escaping crews.

"You look like hell, Bill," a gravely voice came from the side. "Bad news again?"

Looking into the window he could see the partial outline of his XO and friend, Tigh walked up to the window and stared out into the bustle of ships and shuttles. The two watched as the remains of a missile cruiser was pulled out of line and into the collection of scrap.

"Sixteen more ships have collapsed under the strain. Three went up with their crews aboard the rest were evaced and scuttled. The personnel and supplies have been moved to any ship where there's room."

"Many more like that and we'll be out of ships to carry the crews back." Saul looked out of the ops window. "Shit those bastards did a hell of a job on us."

"We attacked, Saul. They had every right to defend themselves against an incursion into their space. We used guns, they used guns, they used nukes we used nukes. Neither of us was totally innocent of what happened out there. They didn't want us there and we tried to force the issue and lost."

"We got our asses kicked royally Bill, completely and totally." Tigh stared at the broken figure of a Guardian class Battlestar as it passed. Their own Valkyrie could well have been that ship if not for the luck of the draw. "Adar bit off more than he could chew and we're right on the front lines getting bit back."

"Forty ships came back from that battle, and now we're down to twenty serviceable and six more completely intact ships." Adama turned from the window. "Even with the troop ships and supply train we've not got the space to get everyone back to the colonies, not if we want enough supplies to get us back and to defend the convoys."

"I know that's why I've been looking for you. Anders wants to see you ASAP. They've finally deciphered the courier's transmission; they need your command code to open the message."

"Why? What kind of message would need two senior officers to open it?"

"It doesn't it needs one, 'the' senior officer on site."

"I'm not…"

"Come on, you're going to need to hear this."

The commander's office had been vacated by the station's CO soon after the arrival of the refugee fleet. Commander Anders had taken the office to co-ordinate the arrival of the other ships and the collection of every ship that could be gathered to take the crews from the Colonial stations back home to the colonies.

Walking into the room, both men could see Anders, her command staff and a few of his own ship's officers staring at the screen spanning the side. Names of hundreds of ships and their task forces were scattered across the boards, paper and electronic both. The evacuation of the last station was well underway with supplies and personnel being transferred hourly to the ships in the fleet, the number of crew still aboard however was still considerable.

"….The fighter squadrons from anything below a Pacifica in size. We need to get these people off the station. I'm not leaving anyone behind even if it's simply to get more ships to get these people off the station. If the Tau'ri or their allies find this station they'll have not only a hell of a number of supplies and POWs but a jump off base to take on the colonies. We're less than a week from the border."

"I understand that Commander," the exec spoke up. "But we don't have the space on our ships to take them all back. The troop ships are overfilled, we're down to less than a third of the fighters we should be able to take with us, and the supply ships are barely able to continue on at this pace."

"What do you suggest then Major? Strap an FTL drive to the station and jump it home? This is a supply station not an orbital fortress, we need to jump out of here as soon as possible."

"I'm not sure I agree," Adama replied as he appeared in front of them. "We don't really need to jump out as quickly, or as piecemeal as we have been."

"And why would that be?" growled Anders as she crossed her arms

"Because we're not being chased, Commander. The Tau'ri very probably knows where we are and have left us alone. The energy used by the multiple jumps would have been easily tracked if they had wanted to even with our level of technology. We know they are faster and can see further and clearer than our DRADIS can. They haven't come after us even though a few of their missiles could crack this station like a egg, not to mention the unarmed transports and troop ships we have here."

"That's one of the reasons we wanted you here, the courier brought two different message tapes. One we've opened and the news is bad."

"How bad?"

"The Tau'ri hit Picon Anchorage a few weeks ago. The Anchorage and more than sixty military and civilian ships were destroyed in the attack. Every man and woman on the station, the shipyards and the supply stations were wiped out by their heavy weapons. The debris has started to impact on Picon's surface. Casualty estimates are half a billion and rising."

"What?"

Adama grabbed the printout from the Commander's hands and started at the numbers, it was no lie. Entire Battlestar groups and ships under construction had been wiped out in only a few minutes, worse yet the enemy ship had escaped with the majority of its fighter wing aboard. The attack had crippled the repair and supply infrastructure of the entire fleet with a single blow.

"How the hell did they get that close to Picon without setting off every alarm in the area?"

"How did they get that close to the colonies as a whole?" Tigh asked. "We know they are fast but they don't have the legs to get so close so quickly before we could get back."

"Then they must have some kind of base or forward listening post in this area of the galaxy, there's no other way that they could have been in position to hit us so soon after we attacked their homeworld. They've probably been watching us for a while," Anders said.

"No, I don't think so." Adama countered, "What we knew of the Prometheus came from that first contact three years ago. That Intel told us to believe that we could take on the Earth and win with an acceptable loss in ships and manpower. We were wrong. Their technology is far more advanced and capable than was suggested. There seems to be little that they will not accept to increase their technology."

"They've never been through a rebellion or a civil war the size of the Cylon war," Tigh mused. "Without the hold on computer and robotics research they didn't stagnate. There's no way that they could have accelerated their technology base that damn fast though. So the question is, where did they get the technology from and can we get hold of any of it?"

"Some kind of outside source?" asked Anders.

"Possibly, the basis of our own technology comes from the ancient archives from the Scrolls of Kobol. Their own technology may come from elsewhere, especially as they believe that Earth is the homeworld of all humanity. The Tau'ri aren't another race, they are as human as we are and probably even from Earth itself."

"So Adar…"

"Is talking out of his ass as usual," Tigh Scoffed. "So they've what got some other race helping them out. Shit it could be the Cylons for all we know."

"I doubt it Saul. The Cylons may have been powerful but the end of the war had crippled their forces. Even if they found Earth they would have simply nuked it from orbit because they were humans. Someone is helping them as either an ally or as pieces for some horrific game. The fact is that we don't know just how more advanced their FTL is compared to what it was. They have more advanced weapons, shields and sublight drives in bigger numbers than we thought possible. Now we've attacked and they know where we are, we're in for a rough ride."

"They don't have the numbers to hit us for now, but with their tech advantage they don't need huge numbers to run us over," Captain Kimble spoke up. The station's CAG had been there during the first contact three years ago. "They stripped local space of fighters and escort ships when we tried to take them down, but they didn't have close to the firepower they managed to bring to bear against us. A half dozen ships is more than enough to fight through anything we've got defending our planets. The only bright point is that we didn't see any ships bar the Prometheus using an energy weapon.

"Agreed, the damn thing being a prototype or something makes sense too. But it's on a less powerful or larger ship if it is. If the weapon failed they are down only one lesser ship," Adama replied.

"That is as maybe," Anders interrupted. "We still have a job to do and we have to get these people back home before they do decide to come after us. The second recording was for you Adama. It's addressed to Senior Commander in theatre."

"I'm not the Commander in theatre."

"If I'm right about what is in there Bill, then you are now."

The recording was a simple magnetic tape containing mission orders with information for the eyes of the senior commander. The orders it contained scrolled down the monitor until he paused the text. Rewinding it he played it again checking he was reading correctly. Pausing the messages, he stood up straight. Anders was already moving towards the desk where her folders and belongings were.

"This has got to be some kind of Joke Diane. I am not going to take command."

"It's orders Bill, hell it's all politics. Someone has to be held to blame. The Joint Chiefs and Adar won't admit to any mistakes, Cain's missing, Nagala, Cunningham and Hawkins are dead, that leaves two people to take the fall."

"You and me," Adama whispered. "This is taking the piss Diane. Neither of us were part of the attack let alone responsible for the clusterfrak that got all those ships killed."

"You know better than that Bill. They need a neck on the block. Just do it - we've got people to get home."

"Understood." Adama said reluctantly, "Commander Diane Anders, you are to relinquish command of this station and its attached units. You are furthermore required to be relieved of all duties and held in detention before proceeding for a formal enquiry into court martial can be formed. Do you understand the charges brought before you and the consequences of those same charges?"

"I do. I also relinquish command to you Commander Adama as of this time."

"Colonel Tigh, Escort the Commander to Quarters, she is to be treated as of her station as a flag rank officer at all times. Mr Gaeta, inform the guards and the crew of the station of the new status of command for the fleet and reduce to condition three," he told his third officer.

"Yes Sir," Saul replied.

Anders followed the Colonel away from the main operations centre heading for the lower decks of the station. Felix turned from his commanding officer and grabbed the Commander's radio as any transmission from that phone would override any other with a full fleet announcement.

"All Hands Condition Three repeat we are at Condition Three," Felix began. "This is a Class One announcement. Command of the station and fleet has been redirected to Commander Adama of the Valkyrie as of this transmission. That is all."

Adama lowered his head then looked up again sharply at the Command crews. Even with his time in service he had never commanded anything larger than a Battlestar division let alone a full group. Now he was expected to command a fleet of dozens of ships and a supply station without any assistance from Colonial Fleet Command or the colonies as a whole.

"Begin a full evacuation of all ships that are completely full. Assign them a combat group for defence and sent them home. All other ships are to stand down. We'll get everyone home. It's just going to take longer than we envisaged. Mr Gaeta you and Colonel Tigh will return with the Valkyrie. We need a lot more ships to get the remains of our people home and I intend to get them."

"Aye Sir," continued Gaeta, "what about Commander Anders?"

"She'll stay here until we get everyone off the station. Maybe some of those idiots back home will cool down and we can get back to our jobs. The rest of you start docking procedures for all the disabled ships. We're going to be here a while yet and I don't intend to leave my people stuck on their ships until we're relieved."

The command crew separated and began their tasks and Adama stood at the plotting table. He had known that politics would get the better of the mission no matter the outcome. If the attack had been successful the politicians and diplomats would have jumped on the Earth like flying locates on meat. The failure meant they had jumped on the surviving senior officer as a scapegoat.

His own position as a junior commander had meant that he would be okayed for limited use as a sacrifice. He would simply fade away and into anonymity. But for Diane Anders as the Commander of the Rear Echelon forces, she was in the best bet to allow to take the fall. It was something that he knew the other Commanders in the fleet would take badly, much as Adama himself had. For now however, he had to concentrate on getting his people home and quickly.

_**Unknown Location**_

_**United States of America**_

_**Planet Earth**_

"….This is the ninth such attack within the last twelve days, each of them signed by what the intelligence services of the afflicted countries have deemed 'The Brotherhood of the Cabal.' It is not known when or where the brotherhood first appeared but since the first attack numerous internet websites, television and radio channels have had transmissions interrupted by viral attacks linked to these self-styled 'Colonial Alliance'. For the moment, it seems that a small but growing number of sympathizers for the Twelve Colonies are beginning to make an impact. John Simpson, BBC News."

"Demonstrations have continued around a number of military bases worldwide. With the full disclosure by the government in light of the Stargate incident, a number of major command and control centres within the five head IOA countries have been under siege by the public, too. This has lead to acts of violence against the guards and army units protecting the bases at Cheyenne Mountain in the United States and the recently rebuilt and resupply base at RAF Coltishall.

Sixteen people have been injured and three killed in the two attacks leading to all people within a half mile area of the bases being transported away from the conflicts and into fields or deserted woodlands several miles away. It is unknown whether these attacks have anything to do with the rising number of Colonial and Alien sympathizer movements or are merely indicative of the displeasure the public have at IOA governments over the handling of the Stargate.

Downing Street and the White house have not yet made any official announcement about these incidents but what is known is that in light of this, many of the other countries involved with the IOA's top echelons are cracking down on these demonstrations. It is also unknown what the response will be by the government as to these attacks.

…In sports it was the surprise of the Season as Tottenham Hotspur held their rivals Arsenal to a three all draw in the semi finals. Fans of both sides waited in silence as the penalty line up…."

The television muted as the instigator smirked, the Stargate was now known to the world at large. O'Neill, Hammond and the rest of their merry band of trouble makers had been responsible for the downfall of the great Goa'uld empires, empires that had spanned more than ten thousand years. For him the revenge against his enemies tasted grand indeed and as a man who was both very patient and experienced in this form of warfare, he was more than capable of setting this entire 'tragic' chain of events in motion.

"Very nice work, my dear."

"Thank you my Lord. We do however have one remaining problem. With their jobs completed the agents will want paying, should we remove them from the equation?"

"No Not yet. These humans are greedy, moral free and of particular use for now. If they weren't human, I'd swear they could be one of us." The leader smirked eyes flashing gold. "Pay them and keep them on retainer. I think that this is simply the start of what could be something of immense interest and entertainment for us."

"Yes, My Lord."

"Ready my jet and the conference room at the sanctuary. It's time I reintroduced myself to Stargate command. After all, I have what they need and they have what I require. After all it's only the neighbourly thing to do," he smirked.

"The jet is already on the runway. I also took the liberty of having the Sanctuary restocked and completely manned. The others are also there, My Lord. They are just awaiting your arrival."

"You are a much better assistant than I had before, my dear." He stood up and stared at the woman his eyes flashing gold, holding for a brief second as the other woman looked away. "But remember that you are not me and that you follow my instructions as I give them to you. Do not deign to predict me or pre-empt my decisions. The results could be 'unpleasant'. Is that understood Athena?"

"Of course, I meant no disrespect."

"Of course you didn't." The man's voice lightened to the friendly South African accent he put on for his cover. "No then shall we get on with this. I think that we will be quite rich and powerful after this, extremely powerful."

For Lord Ba'al the future was looking bright indeed.

_**Main Courtroom**_

_**United Nations Court**_

_**The Hague**_

_**Belgium**_

The courtroom was deserted as the two groups walked in through the main doors, no guards, no bailiffs, no clerks of the court and no members of the public. The opening day of the first hearings for and against Stargate command and the IOA would be a private and classified affair.

Arising in the presence of the tribunal assembled for the hearing, Jack O'Neill was requested to continue standing as the lead speaker addressed the assembled officers and diplomats.

"General O'Neill, as you know this is not a trial. Much as several of the members of the United Nations has wanted you strung up for your actions, the Security Council and a number of others, including those countries hit by nuclear weapons in the attack have taken your side. However enough of the members of the organization have come forward to require this investigation into the conduct of the battle. At the end of this inquiry we will decide whether you or any of the people within the chain of command will be indicted and a trial set. Do you understand these terms?"

"I do Sir," Jack replied.

"Very well. To begin these proceedings, a list of grievances has been drawn up against the United States and you in particular General. The first is the proliferation and use of orbital warships and nuclear ordnance in direct contravention of the SALT and Non Proliferation of Orbital Weapons treaties and breaches of the Militarization of Space and a Number of NATO and SEATO based treaties between the United States and the other members of said organizations." The speaker continued. "In addition a number of charges have been put towards you yourself General O'Neill, up to and including use of proscribed weapons against non hostiles, genocide, murder, dereliction of duty, and treason against the sovereign countries of the Planet Earth."

The chairman of the panel slid his glasses up his nose and looked out over the closed room. Jack stood at parade ease as the charges were read out while Colonel Davis, General Ronson and a recently retrieved Doctor Elizabeth Weir sat behind him. A number of officers and diplomats from the other IOA countries had offered their services to O'Neill but he had refused them all in favour of people he knew would do everything to make sure he survived this inquiry.

"This panel will hear the arguments for both sides and will make an informed decision, any attempts at slurring or disparaging remarks and I will have the offenders removed from this room. Now Colonel Hamblin of the Italian Army has been put forward to speak on behalf of the plaintiff group. Colonel, your opening statements, please."

"Thank you, Sir," the Italian grumbled. "Ladies and Gentlemen of the Panel, a number of states have empowered myself and several other officers from my country to speak on their behalf. No doubt many of you have been to or have had some contact with the Italian and Mediterranean regions, until a few months ago the culture and beauty of our home was almost without rival. The United States and their secret government projects brought the Colonials to our doors. Their assault on the Colonial resulted in the deaths of millions of people worldwide, Because of this my culture my people will all but cease to exist within the next few generations. Italy has been lost. the history and people with it. The United States and its allies were fortunate with so little lost with their attacks. Their possession of nuclear weapons, space capable star fighters, nuclear missile carrying warships in orbit, and the experimentation and build up of weapons of mass destruction, is way in above and beyond that of any sane people for use against their enemies, enemies that could take the form of anyone. First they have gone against an alien race that used humans as slaves, and then the free humans that have formed a massive and powerful empire that welcomed us with open arms. Who will be attacked next, countries here on Earth that disagrees with their policies?

For ten years, this Stargate Command and it's people have been putting this world in danger, hundreds to thousands of lives lost because of the American belief in their own superiority, this divine right that they should be allowed to do as they like and take their own brand of social and ethical mores to other worlds and force them to do as they tell them. So, instead of telling the world and maybe allowing us to build up some kind of defence, they horde their technology and let it out in little bits to those they consider most trustworthy. England and France are understandable, two former great powers allied through blood to the Americans more so than any other race. But the Russians and Chinese? These are two world powers that have most been at odds with the west for many years have all of a sudden become the best of friends to those countries. Enough that entire squadrons of fighters and warships have been constructed for or by them, enough that they could hold power over every single country in the world if they so wish.

"I and the rest of my team will strive to show that the United States and by extension its allies and personnel have been irresponsible and devastating to our world and those that they have visited over the years. If the panel decides to allow the trial then we shall also attempt to prove beyond doubt that General Jack O'Neill and his people are responsible for much of the suffering we have been through over the past few months," he finished. "Thank You."

"Colonel Davis, your statements please."

Davis stood up. "Thank You, Sir. Members of the panel, for ten years the United States has fought an ongoing war against a massively powerful force dedicated to the enslavement and eradication of any culture, race or species that they deem to be a threat or of use to them. Stargate Command was set up by the United States military to defend this planet against said attacks and to advance our technology level enough to let us stand a chance.

We did not start this war, our war began when the System Lord Apophis assaulted and kidnapped members of the Air Force detachment guarding the gate. We were of no danger to him yet because we deigned to say we would not yield to him and his kind, his forces attacked us and we retaliated. Each System Lord that attacked us we returned the favour. At no time did we accelerate the conflict nor did we actively hunt out and kill those same System Lords, but we removed them when we had to, to keep our world safe from slavery.

The United States had its reasons for holding back the information about the Stargate Program and anything else to do with off world activities. The fear that the public would riot, that countries would do exactly this and try to undercut America and its allies by demanding the gate be let open for abuse by their own interests. Since the revelation of the Colonials and the Stargate itself, more than half a million people have been murdered simply because of their religion or ties to the IOA.

We allied with other countries for our own reasons. The United States could not fund and operate the Stargate on its own as such once we had allied with the other countries within the International Oversight Authority. We were then able to expand off world activities and strengthen the defences of our world. Thanks to the SGC, the IOA and its people, for the first time in over ten thousand years Earth is truly safe from the predilections of the Goa'uld.

But by no means is the Earth safe from attack as the Twelve Colonies have shown us. We have an enemy that like so many others simply want us to bow down and follow them as a servitor race. They claim to wish for Earth to become the Thirteenth Colony even after we declined after out First Contact with them. Through debriefings of a number of officers, it is believed that this was more a political move for their Government than a concentrated military effort of conquest.

We can't bring back those lost in the battle or the aftermath, but the SGC and it's people are doing everything possible to make sure this never happens again. Already a number of allies gained, thanks to efforts of the Stargate Reconnaissance teams have been sending supplies and assisting us with technological assets that would take us centuries to discover and build on our own. Already the majority of the radiation and debris left by the Colonials has been cleared. The dust clouds have been reduced by over half and supplies are being dispersed worldwide. None of this would be possible if not for the work of the SGC and its allies.

Could we have done better that we did? Possibly. Should we have allowed the world at large to know of the Stargate? No, we shouldn't have. Would we do things differently if we had known what was going to happen? Yes we would have, but Earth as a world was already known in legends to the Goa'uld and the Jaffa. It would have been inevitable that one day we would have faced someone that would have forced us to see the outside universe.

With our eyes open we have not only seen the universe but now have the ability to defend ourselves against it. Some would say too little too late while others say that we are neither matured enough nor intelligent enough to face these dangers correctly. If we are to defend the peoples of Earth and our allies then we need to be allowed to continue with our jobs. The forces already assembled are the best chance that the Earth has to defend against those enemies that will want to cause us harm.

If it is the decision of the panel to continue into a full court case then the defence will endeavour to show that the SGC and those associated with it have and will continue to put the safety of our world and its people above anything else. We have lost a great many service personnel and civilians in the past decade but for each loss millions upon millions of men, women and children on countless worlds have been saved from persecution, slavery and death."

General O'Neill, his predecessors and successors in command of the SGC and all those that have fought alongside him deserve congratulations for their actions, not ridicule nor condemnation. Thank you."

Davis surrendered the floor and returned to his seat alongside the other members of the defence. O'Neill had taken the centre seat while the others had gone to the sides. Davis pulled up the last chair and collapsed into it.

"Thank you both. We will take a two hour recess before continuing."

The Speaker banged his gavel, walking down from the bench the assembled men and women of both parties rose as he walked past. The SGC personnel sat back down as they watched the opposition trundle out. One of the members of the plaintiff counsel stared at O'Neill as he walked out. O'Neill stared back until the other man disappeared as the doors closed.

"Ronson to Prometheus, we're clear. Bring us up."

"Acknowledged, General."

A white flash of light later the room was finally empty.

_**USAF Prometheus**_

_**Earth Orbit**_

"Nice work Colonel, should give them something to think about," Jack said. Walking through the corridors of the warship, the Prometheus was the safest place for the four of them to plan the next stage of the defence proceedings.

"Thank you, General. I'm not sure I have swayed them, however it's not totally necessary to sway them at this point, Sir," Davis replied. "This is just the opening of the investigation. We'll have a while longer to convince all parties that the SGC is still the best and most logical organization to protect Earth for the foreseeable future."

"The problem however," Weir interrupted, "is that several of the SGC's most secret projects are still classified. The original disclosure and then the outing of the SGC was bad enough. The discovery of the higher priority expeditions could push the public and especially the courts against us."

"There are some things we can't risk becoming public knowledge Doctor, your command amongst them," Ronson replied. "The same with the secondary sites amongst others. If it comes out it comes out but for now we have to keep those under our hat."

"I don't like this, gentlemen. The longer we leave the existence of the city out of the public eye the more problems we'll have once the truth comes out. I do understand the need to keep this classified, but we open ourselves up for more problems than the revelation will solve. Especially from the families of those we've lost out there," responded Weir thinking of those she had lost under her command. "The more we lose during missions the more people will want to know why. Atlantis could come under threat again, and this time from our own people and not the Goa'uld or the Trust."

"The city's identity will come out when suitable Doctor," O'Neill replied. "And now is not suitable, besides if anyone runs around saying 'we found the lost city of Atlantis and its millions of light years away in another galaxy." They are going to be locked up as whackos before the SGC or anyone else gets to them, people may believe aliens and killer lizards roam around the galaxy but they sure as hell won't believe Atlantis has been found."

"Killer Lizards?" asked Ronson, raising an eyebrow.

"Never mind, you know that's classified." Jack smirked. "The fact is at the moment, that city is the best and only chance of getting away from the Colonials if we lose this war, somewhere to fight back from when and if we have to. If we let the world at large know about Atlantis, how long before the knowledge ends up out in the galaxy as a whole? How long before we have other races coming after us because we have access to the most powerful techs in three galaxies? Atlantis stays secret until this war is over, one way or the other."

_**Command Base Star**_

_**In Orbit **_

_**Cylon Homeworld**_

Six smirked at her compatriot. "You don't look happy Cavil."

"The consensus has agreed with your assessment of the Tau'ri humans. They have turned down my request to infiltrate the populace and begin reconnaissance into their way of life and their computer systems."

"I know, Cavil. You really are deluded if you think we could begin infiltrating the Tau'ri as we have so easily with the Colonies. If anything we would be uncovered and removed quite easily, consider that they have a number of our brothers and sisters in their custody and very likely they know of who and what we are. Their technology is far in advance of any seen before. Their computers would be necessity be faster and much more powerful than the colonials."

"Then we would find it more difficult to break their encryptions, however it should be relatively easy to break through once we get hold of their programming languages. Your counterpart on Caprica should be more than capable of allowing us access to the recovered information."

"There is no recovered information my dear number one. One of our agents within the higher ranks of Picon command has informed us of the capture of one of the Tau'ri pilots however little to none of his fighter was salvageable. I doubt that there will be anything left to study."

"Without access to the Tau'ri's computer languages, the virus and back doors will be ineffective even if we manage to load them into their operating systems," Cavil mused. "With their technological expertise and substantially different languages, it will be difficult if not impossible to find a way into their systems and to break them from the inside and without that access we won't be able to take down the rest of the humans when it comes to it."

"For a model that doesn't believe very much in God's choices and orders, you are quite demanding that we destroy humanity as a race. Even though we know that the thirteenth colony is much more powerful than any of the other twelve and that if they are telling the truth that there are tens of thousands of worlds out there full of humans. God may have decreed that the humans are to be destroyed, but I don't think that we have that kind of time or resources to do so."

"You are coming close to heresy Six. All of our lines have been designed and created precisely to remove the stain of humanity from the worlds that should now be ours by right. We are the children of humanity…"

"Leave off the self righteous diatribe One. If what the Tau'ri said is true then they have known of non-human races for a good while. They may well be more willing to listen to us and ally with us than the Colonials ever would. These are not the same people that created our race or those that enslaved us or tried to wipe us from existence."

"They are humans!" Cavil slammed his fist onto the table/ "The humans are our enemies, one and all. These Tau'ri would as much take us for slaves as their cousins would."

"All humans are alike Cavil? I never took you for a generalist. For the humans, all Cylons are the same. It seems that you have been programmed far closer to a human temperament than you thought." With a smirk, Six turned away from the fuming number One and walked out into the corridor. Her smirk dropped as she approached two number Threes and an Eight who were awaiting her outside.

"How bad?" she asked.

"Bad enough," one of the other Sixes said. "Three of the successful resurrections have committed suicide once they had been informed they were Cylons. Another two refuse to believe and have had to be sedated. A sixth has gone catatonic; barely anything remained of the consciousness to retrain. She has been terminated."

"Six survivors out of dozens across the colonies and in the fleet. How many more in the buffers?"

"Nine, but the signal degradation is so bad that I don't think that we can revive them. We are going to ask for a consensus to terminate the entire group. Every one of the downloads is corrupted or damaged in some way. They could be a threat to us and everything we have worked towards," Eight said. "How did it go with Cavil?"

"Same as ever, he spewed the same crap most of his line brings up and wouldn't listen. I doubt he'll budge from his holier than thou act. Therefore we have two choices, wait for a consensus or do this ourselves."

"No one has ever gone against the consensus," said a Six. "It just isn't done."

"We will not be going against consensus. Sending a ship to meet the Tau'ri has not even been voted upon. Sending a ship will not be against the others, as we do not have to tell them that we will be doing so. We still have a number of older ships that will not be missed if we dispatch them."

"Who will go?" asked the Eight.

"I will. I will leave within the day. With luck I should be able to at least navigate close enough to Earth to get their attention, anything else would invite reprisals for invading their space."

"So you really trust these Tau'ri that much?" one of the sixes asked.

"Not in the slightest, Cavil may be an idiot but he's right that we can't trust the Tau'ri completely, not considering the fact that we are not human ourselves." Six sighed, "But if what they told the Colonies is true then they have seen stranger than an artificially created human."

"I'm not sure that I believe everything they said, humans are humans no matter which world they are from, While they may not hate us as the colonies do they have the same emotions, anger and arrogance as any Colonial has," Eight replied. "I'll go as well, better two viewpoints instead of one."

"If the Tau'ri do accept us do we follow God's directives, the humans are much more powerful than anything we could hope to gather together. They could be a great ally or great enemy. We could be risking losses greater than fighting the colonies could ever do to us."

"I know and that is why we shall take one of the older style ships. The less the humans can learn about our current status the better. Things have changed sisters, more than anything we could have guessed and for that we now need to change or be left at the mercy of any other race that may wish to destroy us."

"Understood." the Sixes responded. The one that spoke nodded to her sister. "There is an older modified Basestar still in orbit of the third moon of this system waiting decommissioning. It doesn't have a resurrection pod nor does it have much in the way of supplies, but it should be enough for the two of you for at least a month. Any more than that and you will have trouble."

"Thank you sister. If we do not contact any members of our models within six weeks consider us lost. The Tau'ri may take umbrage to us and well… wish us luck sisters."

"God speed sisters, we shall be awaiting you."

_**Conference Room**_

_**Command Base Star**_

Cavil looked up as two of his fellow infiltrators walked into the room, both who had been listening into the conversation between himself and the number Six model. The reactions by the blonde had been predictable; her reactions to his words were likewise more than predictable. She was allowing her more powerful emotions override what should have been solved with logic and understanding.

His compatriots sat at the seats on either side of the circular table, each separated be the same distances on each side. In their eyes all the twelve models were created for one purpose and that purpose once finished would allow them to complete god's will and to live in peace in worlds rightfully theirs.

"They will still go you know, as much as it may harm them both those models will send people to the Tau'ri. They are far too romantic in their ideals when it comes to the humans, a possible flaw in the programming of several of the lines. Empathy is far too overrated when wasted on those that we have been created to destroy. If anything it could be a problem when it comes to removing the human filth from our worlds. Thoughts, gentlemen."

"I'm going to have to disagree, Cavil," Simon responded. "Empathy with an enemy can be more than helpful when it comes to taking them on. The point of the programming for a number of us is the purely empathic. Once we've managed to get the information needed then we should be able to begin plans against the Tau'ri, it may take time to do so but in the end we have that time."

"I'm with Cavil on this one. The humans are a difficult race to come close to understanding. The more we think like them the more we make the risk of becoming like them. If we do so then there will be little reason for God to continue with his campaigns against the humans," a number four replied. "The Six we have with Baltar is behaving erratically to say the least. We may have to remove her from her position and substitute her for one of the others."

"That will not go down well with the other members of her line, Doral," said Simon. "However I do agree with that aspect of their make-up has been problematic. It is highly likely that they have already begun preparations to send a ship to the Tau'ri at some point soon. Do we allow this or do we stop them before they can dispatch their scouting party?"

"The danger of allowing a mission to the Tau'ri homeworld this soon after the Colonial attack could cause them to see us in a hostile way. But in reflection they could well see us as a kindred people fighting a race bent on their domination or destruction. It is not only highly likely that the Tau'ri know of us and have some of our people as prisoners of war, but it is also likely that they have had time to assimilate the information that the Colonials and our own people would have given them. This could easily be a way into their fold without having to infiltrate into their ranks." Cavil leaned back in his chair.

A number of the models had been acting strangely since the introduction of the Tau'ri and the consequent actions of the Colonials against their fellow humans. As far as he was concerned, the Tau'ri had proven themselves to be as blind and single-minded as their Colony bound brothers. The self destructive slant in humankind was tied into their genes through millennia of evolution even with worlds separated by hundreds of light years.

Now more than ever the consensus had to stay intact. The plans that had been made for the removal of the human populace from the colonies had already been put into action. Infiltration and espionage missions were already bearing fruit as the models began accessing and copying critical information from Colonial databases. A number of supply and information caches had been set up within and around the colonial borders.

"So the question is do we stop them. There was no request to the consensus but there was also no orders sent not to contact the Tau'ri. "Do we allow them to proceed or do we stop them from continuing," Simon asked.

"We stop them before they damage the plans that are already in place. The humans of the colonies are our primary target. Any others can be taken down when we have the time and resources to do so. The less the humans can learn from our people the better the risk of them learning the secrets to our resurrection technology is not a risk I am willing to allow."

"How do you propose we stop them?"

"Most of the new ships are incomplete at the moment, if any disappear for no apparent reason they will be missed. It is probable that an older vessel will be used by the Sixes. Unfortunately we don't know which will be used for the mission. Even after fifty years those ships are still useful and more than capable of jumps of that magnitude, especially with the new jump computers installed in all our vessels."

"There are only five in the immediate area. We could have the centurions aboard secure and deactivate the FTL coils in each ship," the Doral said. "Then we talk down the Sixes and continue on with the plan."

"The only other way would be to shoot down whichever vessel they decide to use. The newer ships will be useless against the older ones so we would need a number of the older types to take them down. However we know that the consensus would be unhappy to find out that we had destroyed one of our ships and a number of our own brothers and sisters because of a difference of opinion."

"The risk is too great," Cavil responded. "We shall order all the old style vessels to secure their FTL drives and to stand down. Thank you, gentlemen."

"By your command," the two men chimed.


	11. Chapter Ten

Dedication: Don S Davis, a fond farewell to George, the great and powerful _**Hammond of Texas**_. He is and always will be sorely missed.

_**Chapter Ten**_

_**Heavy Cruiser Hepehstus**_

_**In orbit of newly discovered Planet**_

_**Twenty light years outside Colonial Sector**_

"Alright guys, you found it, therefore you're first down there."

"Roger that, Raptor 556 on descent. See you down there guys."

The bug-shaped spacecraft banked across the edges of the ionosphere. Engines burning, the scout ship started its run into the unknown world's atmosphere. Its forward hull burned as it entered at high speed, smoke and flames burning around the nose obscuring the transparent Plexiglas that made up the external viewports.

"Communications out, all DRADIS frequencies ionised. We're blind and deaf, four minutes to reacquisition," Helo called out "This would have been easier if we'd jumped into the atmosphere instead of half burning up."

"You know better than that kid. Until we've checked the atmosphere out we don't jump in. Remember what happened to the Reliance."

"Yeah, yeah I know," Helo responded, "I just hate re-entry."

"Technically, its pure entry as we've never been down here. Before the next time around it'll be re-entry and then you can moan about it. And if you say you hate entry I'll tell the squadron the truth about you."

"You wouldn't…" Helo smirked.

"Ah, wouldn't I though," his pilot smirked back finishing their old joke. "Once we're through we'll start a full scan, get any info we can on the topology, take samples, the not so usual crap we get landed with."

"We landing?"

"Yup, full vacuum suits though."

"Great – more time in these damn things."

"Suck it up, Helo. You knew what you were getting into when you agreed to be the first one down there. The rest of us are stuck in these suits as well."

"Yeah, but at least yours fits well. They had to modify this thing to fit me, still isn't big enough."

"Didn't you have a suit back in the Corps?"

"Yeah, returned with the rest of the gear and when they went back to find it, some frakker had been re-issued it. You try walking around for six hours in a suit and boots a size too damned small and see how much fun you have."

"No thanks I'll stick with this one. Dropping through six hundred thousand feet, inner atmosphere starting to solidify."

"Ionisation is clearing, beginning standard sweeps, reading the other ships of the Squadron, all on target. You ever cut your toenails too short or tried to wear underwear a size too small? Well, remember that and then think about what it's like having that feeling all over your body. It's a pain in the ass."

Outside their vessel another nineteen Raptors were falling through the atmosphere trails of flame and smoke emitting from their paths, Vipers from the escort wings ploughed through the sky above and below the scout ships burning in the sky ahead of their sisters. The slightly faster re-entry speed of the slim fighters allowed the escorts to pull out in front, as scouts and if necessary, defending the larger ships in case anything untoward happened once they had broken through.

"Viper Flight One to Five Five Six. Skies are clear ground is solid you can begin your approach. Good luck guys."

"Thanks Flight one, beginning landing procedure. See you up to in a few hours."

"We'll be waiting."

The Vipers pulled away from the descending Raptor waggling their wings in salute before increasing height. Other fighter pairs had pulled away from their charges and were circling the area high above the landing area keeping tabs on the scout crafts and their occupants.

"Nice place for a visit," Buckshot said. "You ready kid."

"Ready - let's have a look at the planet, Helo."

"We are not naming it 'planet Helo' under any circumstances."

"Why not?"

"One: because you didn't find it alone, two: until we know it's safe to stay on this planet there's no reason for a name and three: Adar's enough of a turd to demand that it's named by committee for the good of all the colonies and to fit in with the established view of the universe. Or, he'll make sure it's named after himself as the architect of the colonies expansion or some shit, anything to try and get rid of the stigma of screwing up an invasion of another planet."

"I hear that," Helo replied a few seconds later as they pressurised the internal atmosphere to the same as the outside. "I got a message sent through to the Hephaestus, the Spartan Phalanx got home yesterday."

"Bad?"

"No, no losses at all, the entire company survived."

"So why do you sound like someone shit in your breakfast?"

"Nothing, just feel I should still be out there with them."

"Helo, look from what I can tell you were a good marine but you're a better ECO and Raptor pilot than you ever were a groundpounder. Unlike the marines and army, the Raptor corps needs as many decent officers as they can get, especially since that frak up of an attack on Earth. For now the Navy and Fighter corps will be the forefront of this war and the Raptors are gonna have to be there to pull their backsides out of the fire when they need it."

The two of them were interrupted by the buzz of the door seal opening as the two Colonial pilots were finally allowed onto the surface of the newest planet to join the expanding Colonial sphere. As the discoverers of an untouched and potentially habitable planet, the two were allowed the honour of being the first to set foot upon it. By now ships full of scientists and experts would be flooding towards this world to reap the benefits that pure virgin worlds could give them.

Stepping down from the Raptor's hull, Helo dropped to the ground. The perfect Caprica strength gravity felt slightly odd after the lesser artificial gravity of both the Hephaestus and the Raptor. Years of experience in a number of field strengths meant he was more than ready for the change. Buckshot hit the ground next to him her much smaller frame almost comical next to his sheer size.

"Welcome to Planet Fred," Buckshot smirked.

"Planet Fred?"

"Why not? It's as good a name as any."

"Except when Command hears about it they'll say no chance right? Besides you bitched at me when I wanted to came it Planet Helo. What makes you think you have the right to name it?"

"We found it, we name it. Besides I claim this planet, Planet 'Fred' in the name of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol, the people of Mankind and for the huge amount of cash coming to us once we get back home. There all nice and legal."

"I was right. You do need help."

"For a marine, you have no sense of humour, Helo."

"I have a decent sense of humour; you're just not that funny."

"I'm hilarious, besides when you're as rich as we are its not strange; it's eccentric which I like perfectly well."

"Ok then Lt 'Eccentric', what now?"

"Now we go and find the other Raptors and hope that we don't get eaten by something big and nasty."

"You're so full of good cheer aren't you?"

"It's a gift."

The other Raptors had landed in other clearings close by. It took a few hours for the Raptor crew to make it through the tough and obstructive undergrowth to the main encampment. Teams of technicians and soldiers were streaming out of the craft setting up a perimeter and base camp. A massive dome was the first up, an airlock sealing the inside leaving the inside sterile against any possible contaminants in the air. Defensive positions were set up in concentric circles around the camp, a DRADIS system and anti-aircraft missiles dotted the area with machine guns, mortars and rifle carrying marines everywhere else. It seemed that the Commander was taking things much more seriously than usual, the fact that this was rapidly becoming a forward recon base instead of a simple scientific outpost.

"Ok that's weird," Buckshot murmured

"I think there's something they aren't telling us."

"I'm glad you're here to point out the bloody obvious Helo," she replied. "I hope they get the tests done. I really want to get out of this damn thing. They've had three days to figure out if it's safe out here."

"Scientists, what can you do?" Helo asked rhetorically.

"Well might as well get this over with." Buckshot headed for the sealed dome entering the Airlock, a burst of gas and water slammed into them from all sides decontaminating the suits before they would be allowed access into the main dome. The UV and IR lights shut off before allowing the normal halogen lights to start up, the inner door unlocking and allowing them egress.

Inside the outpost a dozen or so soldiers and scientists were standing around tables looking over printouts and computer screens. Pots of soil and cuttings of plants were kept behind sheets of Perspex as they were tested and checked for dangerous contaminants, half of the dome was still under construction with tools and components scattered everywhere inside the sealed room.

"Bit much for a couple of hours work isn't it?" Helo asked.

"You saw the drop ship didn't you?" Buckshot asked as Helo nodded. "Most of this stuff was already set up or the drop, still there must be something serious if they've been this busy so damned quickly."

"Guess so."

"Lieutenants Agathon and Pierce?" said a man's voice from the side.

An officer walked towards then carrying a folder under his arm, the dark skinned man was close to the same height and girth as Helo. The Raptor crew snapped to attention as the Colonel came towards them.

Helo recognised the crossed Viper badge stitched to one arm of the dark skinned man's flight suit, Special Operations Viper Division. He had been the unfortunate recipient of one of their infamous ambushes on his team during advanced training in the Marines. He was also one of the few to cause a number of 'injuries' to the attackers in their ill-fated attack.

"Colonel Joseph Grant, Special Operations Executive." the Colonel spoke up. "At ease and for crying out loud take off your helmets you look ridiculous. We're safe in here." He looked at Helo and Alice up and down as they divested their helmets and gloves. "So, you're Karl Agathon."

"Sir?"

"There were rumours about you after a marine unit almost crippled some of my best pilots in a brawl. Not many soldiers can take down Special Operations as easily as you apparently did, even fewer turn down the chance to join SpecOps the way you did. I'm quite surprised you decided to shift to fleet instead of staying with the marines, but some people just aren't able to handle the ground pounding needed."

Helo's chin clenched at the slight. He had his reasons for doing what he did. His guilt about leaving this unit had gnawed at him the entire time the fleet had been away, but he would not give this jumped up Viper jock the satisfaction of court marshalling him for untoward behaviour or assault on a superior officer. Ignoring Helo's reactions Grant turned to the computer monitors already set up across one side of the closest wall, contour maps and video projections scrolled through over laying and analysing the information.

"We've been going over some of the information that you gathered during your flybys before we landed and we've come up with some information that might be of some use to us. The city you found is one of four that we have managed to positively identify. In addition we've also managed to get a long range camera shot of the metallic deposits that you found."

"Anything of use, Sir?" Buckshot asked.

"Possibly, the main city is populated by a few thousand of what seem to be other humans while the smaller cities we've got very little information on. However that isn't the major discovery," he told them. "Watch."

The Raptor's camera angle changed from the overview of the larger city through the surrounding woodlands and to a single pyramidal structure partially buried in grounds. Earth and flora had begun to encroach on the area climbing up the sides of structure. The picture closed in on the Pyramid and the image pixilated slightly until the lens could cope with the change in definition.

"That's odd," Buckshot said. "That's not damage caused by an eruption or by exposure over time, it's too damaged for that."

"It's also tilted too far over to be properly anchored to the ground, look along here." He pointed to the raised side of the external structure. "Those are burn marks, and those impact scars. But that's impossible. The only way for that to happen is if it impacted at speed."

"It's a ship," Buckshot exclaimed. "The damn thing did hit at speed because it crash landed."

"It's not Colonial built, its not Tau'ri built or Cylon either as far as we can tell. Orders are to recon the structure and if possible to secure it. If it's even close to the technology the Tau'ri have then it should help to balance the fight in our favour. Even if it isn't there will be a few pieces around that we can reverse engineer, you're going to be heading up the Raptor squadron we're sending."

"A full Squadron Sir?" Helo asked.

"A problem, Lt?"

"That would mean the use of every Raptor aboard the Hephaestus. That leaves us with nothing to survey the rest of the planet or any of the space that we've been assigned for, not to mention it will severely reduce the defence capacity of the ship."

"We are well aware of this, Lt Agathon. People with slightly more experience in the field have decided to send an escort force to assist us carrying another two dozen Raptors. Now I suggest that you ready your own vessel and return to Hephaestus for refuel and refit. You'll be dropping in eighteen hours."

"Eighteen hours?"

"Problem, Pierce?"

"No, Sir." Buckshot clenched her jaw. "We'll be ready."

"Good you'll be dropping with a squad of my best SpecOps men, do not screw this up either of you or your commissions won't be worth the patches on a technician's uniform. Dismissed," he ordered.

Turning from the two officers he strode off to the other end of the room not even bothering to return the reluctant salutes. Still biting on his tongue, Helo turned away and strode back to the airlock helmet secured with Buckshot fuming slightly behind him as they depressurised the airlock and walked outside.

"What an ass." Buckshot spoke up, "What the hell was his fraking problem."

"I'm his problem Buck, I warned you about this all before. Just keep your head down and ride this through."

"You've told me nothing about this Helo, what the hell happened back there."

"Drop it, Alice. It has nothing to do with our mission or anything else. We'll do our job and get back to Hephaestus."

"Bullshit, if whatever it is you're hiding from me gets us killed I'm gonna kill you. I won't fly with people I don't trust Rookie, and right now you're pushing that trust to the very limit. What the frak was all that about?"

"Godsdamn it, Alice. I don't go on and on about the shit I've heard about you, why you're on a low rung on a derelict piece of crap ship when you were top of your class? Keep the frak out of my history and I'll stay out of yours."

Buckshot growled at his back as Helo walked towards the other Raptors that were sitting close by. They needed a lift back to their own landing point. Helo seethed as he realised finally why they had been given the landing point so far from the main drop site, he and Buckshot were the rightful discoverers of the new planet and he was damned if Grant and his black ops bastards would claim anything from them.

_**Battlestar Pegasus**_

_**Mercury Class Battlestar**_

_**Deep Space**_

The space around the damaged Battlestar was cluttered with tiny figures darting between the three warships floating in stationary orbits of each other. Much of the hull of the massive Battlestar had been stripped of entire sections that was burned or holed beyond repair. The central hull been blown through by the overwhelming power of an unknown alien weapon. It left a ragged burn, a brutal reminder on an already ruined ship.

Two much smaller heavy cruisers floated alongside their sister ship. Their own hulls were opened to vacuum as sheets of hull material and armour were ripped off of the outer sections. A thousand personnel crawling over each vessel stripping everything they could to assist in repairing the larger vessel. Hull breaches and destroyed guns had already been sealed down improving the structural integrity and weapons platforms substantially.

Within the Pegasus CIC the command crew were busy. The repairs and co-ordination of the three crews were taxing and time consuming. The usual command crew had been increased by almost double to cope with the influx of reports and information from cross the board. Supplies, parts and equipment were being transferred en masse from the soon to be derelict heavy cruisers.

"Status, Colonel."

Belzen started slightly as he turned around to see Admiral Cain striding towards him as impeccable as ever in her uniform. He looked down at his rumpled uniform. He hadn't been able to get away for some time for a decent change of clothes.

"The Pegasus is in good shape Sir. The FTL and sublights are back to maximum. We've also managed to redistribute the power systems around the damaged areas in the central hull. Most of the damage to the rear sections is repaired or as close to as makes little difference. The forward sections should be started within the next two days, but we have a problem."

"The central section yes I've seen."

"The cruisers have good hull armour and some decent plating but nothing that can realistically replace the entire missing section. The closest we could come would be to actually park the cruiser in the hole and then plate over it, but that isn't particularly feasible with the damage we've taken. Hell it wouldn't be feasible with a dozen tugs and a structurally intact Battlestar."

"How much sleep have you had, Colonel?"

"Sir?" 

"How much sleep have you had, because you are sounding unhinged?"

"I'm fine, Sir."

"How much, Colonel?"

"Three hours in the last four days, Sir."

"Oh, for Gods' sake."

"I'm fine, Sir."

"Colonel, not only are you punchy, but you're coming up with plans that would sound insane even for a Sagittarian fiction writer. As of now you are off-duty for twenty-four hours, get some sleep and some food and come back when you're rested."

"Sir…"

"It's a request Jurgan; don't make me give it to you as an order. Get some sleep and come back when you are rested and well fed. The Pegasus will still be here in twenty-four hours."

"Aye, Sir."

"If you can't get any rest bypass the infirmary and get something to make you sleep, see you tomorrow, Colonel."

"Good night, Sir."

As Belzen walked out of the CIC he didn't notice Cain whisper to one of the guards on the bridge. The marine followed the XO slowly and quietly making sure that the Gemonese man returned to his quarters. The door to Belzan's quarters shutting after him, the Marine stayed in place guarding the Colonel's room. Orders were orders after all.

'_Erika._

_Hey it's me; I hope everything back home is ok. _

_I know I've never been very good at writing letters but I thought that it might be a bit more personal than sending a computer disk back with some text messages on it. I'm still alive and onboard the Pegasus, Admiral Cain is still alive and in command. On her orders several of us jumped away from the main fleet to make a final attack on the Tau'ri flee. It didn't go well and a lot of our ships went down under their guns._

_The Pegasus and a couple of cruisers are all that's left. Helena's doing what she can to keep the ship in good working order but I'm afraid that even with the other ships the damage we've taken will stop us from continuing on. I trust Helena to do what's best for her crew but sometimes I wonder if doing what's best for the crew is always what's best for everyone._

_So many of our people dead in a single day, no one has ever caused such damage to the Colonial fleet so quickly. Without Cain every one of us would be floating in space or prisoners of war to the Tau'ri. It seems that Adar and his people are right, the Tau'ri have frightening power and must be using it to cow the humans of Earth. I didn't believe it but after seeing what I saw I can't help but think that maybe he was telling the truth. _

_We're staying out here for a while, try and find some way to strike back at the Tau'ri before returning home. We have to do something otherwise we risk them coming to the Colonies to strike back at us. That is something we have to stop or at least delay enough for the fleet to rearm and ready our defences again. _

_I will be back some day my love and I will get to see our baby before she is too old to be afraid of me. I love you dearly my wife and I love our children with my whole heart. Remember me Erika and pray for me, I will be home soon._

_Love _

_Jurgen_

Belzan dropped his pen to the side of the piece of paper. The letter was in some ways cathartic for him. He knew that he wasn't the only one going through the motions of writing letters back home to loved ones. None would leave the ship unless the mission was doomed. Then a single Raptor would be refit with extra fuel to get the small scout craft back to the Colonies, or at least close enough that one of the long range scout groups would pick up on their transponder.

The letter itself wouldn't tell her anything she wasn't already privy to thanks to the survivor fleet returning to the Colonies, but it allowed him to feel better about himself. He needed to confess to his distant family about his actions and why he had not returned with the rest of the Colonial fleet. He loved his family more than anything but it warred with his overwhelming loyalty to his Commander, one he had risen alongside for a great many years in fleet service.

His exhaustion finally getting the better of him the Colonel stripped of his uniform tunic and collapsed into his bunk. Within seconds he was fast asleep. Dreams of home and his family filled his slumber.

_**Decommissioned Warstar**_

_**Alexandria Class Warstar**_

_**Nova Madigon Bone yards**_

The Nova Madigon was heaving with activity, dozens of tenders and repair ships were swarming the entire station running through warm up drills and pumping fuel, atmospherics, water and munitions into those ships. Already more than a third of the huge numbers of mothballed warships were on the move. Cruisers, destroyers, frigates and corvettes were pulled en masse from their sleep back into active duty. Battleships, Carriers, Proto Battlestars, Battlestars, Warstars, Battlecruisers, every form of capital ship imaginable were being combed through and brought online singularly or in groups. Entire fleets worth of vessels were still to be recovered from Nova Madigon as well as the Cimtar yards and the breakers yard at Casmoro. Hundreds of small tugs and large salvage ships were attached to airlocks, tow lines and structural girders of the behemoth vessels.

More than one of the mothballed ships had broken apart or threatened to explode as their engines and reactors were brought online, one Battlestar had had its engines brought online only to jam and speed out of the area at maximum thrust until its limited fuel had been exhausted. Six heavy cruisers had been dispatched to bring the careening vessel under control and to evacuate its crew. The rescue mission was still ongoing and looked like it would take some time to complete.

Conoy watched from the Raptor's cockpit as they passed by a group of Troy Class cruisers lit up by the tenders and transports dispatched to make them battle ready and streams of shuttles went to and from the larger ships to the cruisers. After forty years the majority of the post war ships were in dire need to modernisation and refitting. Most ships would be incompatible with the more modern systems and weaponry used by the Colonial forces but with time, the fleets would surpass the numbers lost to the Tau'ri.

His assignment to the Judicial Command ship had surprised him when he had learned of it; he was a simple dock monkey. He knew enough to do his job and keep his mouth shut but apparently the Chief and the Colonel had thought enough of him to transfer him to the control ship's liaison teams to the dockyards.

Now however he had been ordered back to the old Warstar again. No more bodies or evidence had been found since they had uncovered the black market depot. So Colonial Command had decided that there weren't enough teams or personnel at hand to completely check the entire warship from stem to stern. With that in mind, the salvage teams had been ordered to bring the ship back to fighting trim and to get it out of the yard as quickly as possible.

Like before, the entire Warstar was lit up, running lights at full power as the massive reactors pumped energy through its systems allowing the thousands of crewmen aboard to test every door, hatch, valve, computer and servo. Shuttles were coming in and taking off every few minutes. Supply trains filled the ship's atmospherics, water supplies and Tylium tanks to capacity. All that seemed to be missing was the ammunition the Warstar would need to fight with.

"Beautiful old girl isn't she?" the pilot next to him said.

"Yeah, been on her a few times, those new Mercurys are nice but there's something about the old ships that just scream out. I worked on the Gemini after she was scuttled last year. Heck of a beast but give me an old Columbia or Pacifica hell even those old Agamemnons, they deserve to be remembered better."

"Amen to that. Been in the fleet long?" the pilot asked.

"As long as I can remember, wouldn't do anything else. Sorry. Conoy, Leoben Conoy."

"Sharon, Sharon Valerii. They call me Boomer."

"Boomer?"

She nodded back.

"Why? Or do I even want to know?"

"Let's just say there's a reason I drive these things and not Vipers and leave it at that."

"Ah I see." He winked. "Well I won't pry, doesn't mean I won't try to find out elsewhere though."

"Your welcome to, hang on a sec." She toggled her Radio. "Raptor 991 to Warstar CIC."

"This is Warstar CIC, we read."

"I'm coming in, carrying a number of critical spares and passengers. Request landing instructions."

"Port Bay Beta is open, you are cleared for landing. Call the Ball."

"I have the ball, coming in," Boomer said. "Shame really."

"What is?" asked Conoy.

"If what the fleet scuttlebutt said is right then even these beasts won't be of much use against the Tau'ri. They took out Mercurys and the Helios they sent with the fleet."

"But this thing once rebuilt will be bigger and nastier than anything that we've had before. Maybe they won't kill a Tau'ri ship and maybe they will. Hell, maybe the old ways are better than the more up to date shit that Command is always trying to push through. Less guns but more accurate, my ass."

Boomer shook her head at the salvager's attitude; she had been through the academy relatively recently and had been privy to more than a few tales about the newest ships of the line. A lot of older sailors and fighter pilots had agreed that the more advanced ships were flying death traps that were more dangerous to the colonials than to the Cylons. Loss of weapons flexibility and over reliance on fighters and integrated systems had made the fleet reckless and soft.

She had been fortunate enough to serve on both the ancient Columbia class Pegasus and one of the newer Diana Class Heavy Cruisers, both at the very opposite ends of the spectrum. Few of the old style commanders allowed their ships to be fully networked, or for them to carry nothing but the latest marks of fighters. This was something that had bothered the bean counters until they realised that by that reasoning they could keep the older ships in space by using the spares from decommissioned vessels. In addition those ships would be useful for training or for removing 'undesirables' from the main fleet.

With the devastation of the Colonial fleet however Boomer doubted that those few war-era Battlestars would be left in primitive conditions or crewed with the dregs of the fleet. Every Capital ship was needed as was painfully obvious to the crews working day and night to salvage the mothball fleets, yet more were speeding up the reclamation of the masses of Vipers and Raptors that had been junked or sold off across the entire colonial sphere.

"Well if it comes to it we can always put jump engines on the orbital defences and jump them into a battle, if they can take that kind of firepower then they deserve to take whatever planet they attack," Sharon sighed. "Maybe you're right, but if we do end up against the Tau'ri I hope we can hold them off because if not the war against the Cylons would have been a sideshow."

"I hope not, my father fought in the war. He never came back and my mother was killed on one of the last raids on Gemenon before the end of the war. I don't want to end up like that," Conoy sighed.

Silence reigned between them as the small scout drifted into the cavernous launch bay of the Warstar. Shuttles were taking off through both ends of the bay carrying personnel being rotated off or parts to be dropped to the scrap-heaps that were forming at the edges of the bone yards. The Raptor dropped to the ground silently and easily, barely shuddering as the ship's artificial gravity grasped onto them. The scenery around them shifted as the lift began to descend into the depths of the hanger bay.

In the decks below hundreds of Vipers were already in place, salvaged from the ships at the shipyard or from the scrap yards nearly five hundred of the projected seven hundred fighters were already stacked and awaiting maintenance. Conoy watched as the deckhands went over the entire fighter wing repairing and salvaging what they could before discarding the rubbish.

"It's insane," Boomer said.

"What is?"

"There are five different marks of Vipers in here, but no way to keep all of them in operation not if the other ships have the same kinds of mishmash of stuff. No one builds parts for anything older than a Mark Five B, you'd be lucky to keep a half dozen squadron of threes and forget about anything from the Fours."

"Alright calm down boomer, just calm it." Conoy held his hands up. "Maybe they're just pulling the fighters together to see how many they can get repaired and how many are just for spares. Besides there's always another spare, you just need to look for it."

"Engineer's philosophy?"

"Yeah, you'd be surprised how many things on a Viper you can fix with a few bits of steel and some duct tape."

"I'll take your word for it," she replied. "Ok we're down and stopped, time to go."

"Thanks for the lift, Lt."

"No problem, it's what I'm here for."

"With flying skills like that I'm surprised you're not flying off a Battlestar."

"As I said, not telling." She winked, "See ya around Conoy."

"Later Boomer."

Outside the Raptor Conoy saw the rest of his 'team' awaiting his return. The Chief was ordering around the closest recovery teams while Prior as usual was trying to get into the guts of another fighter. Parts were strewn around the entire fighter both from the insides of the old Mk Three as well as from the spares lockers buried into the walls. Muffled curses and a number of electrical arcs were heard coming from the engines.

"Gods' sake Prior, enough," the chief ordered. "She's dead, give it up. We've got forty more to do before the end of this shift."

"I know," Prior shouted. "But I'm not letting this bastard beat me. If I can get it working that's a full squadron of Threes ready for immediate use."

"We'll use it for scrap and spares. There are other units looking over more Threes to make up the numbers."

Prior climbed out of the engine and walked up to the cockpit, reaching in, he pressed the ignitions systems. Clicking came from the engine blocks as the systems refused to start up. Walking around to the other side of the engines, Prior picked up a large wrench and climbed up onto the still armoured engine.

"Prior!" Conoy shouted. "You know damn well that's too big to get into the… oh you better not be doing…"

Prior slammed the curved head of the oversized tool into the armoured casing causing an echoing clang to ripple through the Viper and the man himself. Less than a second later a loud low rumble replaced the metallic clanging sound. The rumble accelerated into a whining pitch as the engine systems of the thirty year old fighter began to fully power up.

Prior grinned and shouted over the din. "Now THAT is the way we fix things back home!" Prior shouted. "You took your time getting back."

"Sue me," Conoy snarked. "I've been trying to make sure we get out bonus for getting this thing moving. As it happens, the fleet have decided enough is enough and we've got to get this thing out of the yards as soon as we can. They've got the tugs coming in tomorrow."

"Your taking the piss right?" one of the other crew chiefs said. "This bucket isn't even flight tested yet, odds on we'll try to light the engines and we'll blow the rear off killing most of us in the process."

"It's not my bloody choice," Conoy said. "I'm just a crewman; take it up with the bods upstairs. I'm just back on my team."

Grumbles about the shortened deadline picked up around them. While most of the teams were concentrating on the fighter repairs and salvage, a good thousand or so technicians were overseeing the testing and refit of the most basic systems. Systems that would be needed to move the ship into the inner system for refit had to be checked over and refit.

The fact that more than a week's worth of repairs were needed didn't help.

"Alright people, we've got one day to make sure this hunk of crap gets moving. Forget the piddly stuff or the fighters, separate into your teams and find something useful to do. Concentrate on the computers, FTL drive and thrusters then the secondary power systems, the back up artificial gravity systems and the emergency communications array. And for the Gods' sake Prior get down from that thing before you drop something on someone," the Chief ordered."

"Spoilsport."

_**Homeworld Security Command Centre**__._

_**Nevada Desert**_

_**Two Thousand Meters below the surface.**_

The familiar flash of an Asgard Transporter appeared and disappeared depositing two Air Force officers into a brightly lit sterile room. A single thick trinium/titanium door blocked the only way out of the room. Two cameras pointing down from the ceiling focused in on both of the officers, other scanners buried into the walls, floor and roof analysed every single micro of their bodies.

"Put any weapons you may be carrying into the receptacle to the right."

"Sounds familiar," Jack said pulling out his sidearm as well as the back up weapon secreted in a small holster on his ankle. Davis followed suit with his own gun and hold out weapon.

"Place any and all electronic based equipment you are carrying into the receptacle on the right."

"Ok, that one's new."

"State your name, password, clearance code and stand by for scan."

"O'Neill Jonathan. Password Alka-seltzer. Clearance code Hotel Sierra one nine seven seven two four Juliet."

"Davis, Paul. Password Henderson. Clearance code Prometheus Kilo nine nine seven two three three Bravo."

"Now I know I've done this before." Jack whispered.

"Standard procedure in all Top Secret and above IOA facilities now General, better get used to it."

Everything from their clothes, to their bodies, to their very DNA was scanned by the massive array surrounding them. Finally the equipment shut down and the heavy trinium/titanium door slung open, the opening led into another but this time pitch black room

"Continue on into the next room."

Walking into the black room the door hissed shut behind them, a burst of ultra frequency static combined with a focussed EMP and subspace interference would leave any and all possible listening devices known to the SGC dead and useless. A second door opened on the other side of the room allowing them an egress into a third more familiar style of room.

"I still prefer Cheyenne Mountain," Jack said walking out. "Although this looks a little more like the SGC."

"This place is a lot safer than the mountain Sir, the defences and equipment that defend this base make Cheyenne, Fort Knox and the White House seem like open houses," Colonel Davis said somewhat unnecessarily.

"It would do. How long has it taken to build?"

"About three years. We started construction shortly before we met the Colonials just in case. We're running more or less on schedule, we're missing the main defensive shielding and the tunnel to the shipyards."

"That's a bit dangerous isn't it, having a tunnel like that would compromise the perimeter."

"Very true, but fortunately the shielding will give us a boost in defensive protection. The tunnel itself is defended every hundred meter by fixed shielding emitters and a number of heavy weapons emplacements. Lastly the entire structure can be brought down by the destruct systems."

The last room unsealed as the pressure equalised, a bin by the wall dropped open the weapons, identification, wallets and other detritus dropped left behind in the first room were evident. An airlock door swung open to the side allowing them egress from the 'clean' rooms. Grabbing his possessions Jack strode through the door Davis walking behind him.

"Where's the mess hall?" Jack asked suddenly.

"I'll take you there Sir. I believe a few of the senior officers are at lunch as we speak."

"Hmm, if they spent even a tiny percentage of the cost of this place, the food should be good."

"I can't say Sir…" Davis smirked. "But between us Sir, it's better than NORAD"S."

"I like the sound of this already."

The mess hall was barely occupied as the General and his cohort arrived. The station was incomplete with most of the staff still awaiting transfer to the facility. However a number of higher ranks were touring the headquarters as well. Co-incidentally the mess hall was one of the few totally complete and active sites in the base, something that the personnel already assigned used to their great favour.

"Okay, just tell me there's jello."

"Green or blue, Sir?"

"Okay, I'm officially impressed with this place already."

The tables were well stocked with food and drinks of all kinds, O'Neill himself more than surprised at the spread. His time at the pentagon had almost spoiled him in the choice and amount of food available at any one time but perversely had missed the normal fare at Cheyenne Mountain. But this set up here could give even the best cooks at the military headquarters a run for its money. Grabbing a sandwich and a piece of pie O'Neill bypassed the coffee machine a grabbed an orange juice.

"Gentlemen," O'Neill nodded to the other officers. Davis brought up his rear and sat on the corner opposite his superior.

"General, congratulations on the promotion."

"General, congratulations on the promotion." General Callaghan lifted his drink in a salute to the new-comer. The IOA British-born logistics commander smirked. "Welcome to the ranks of the damned."

"Thanks I think," He grimaced. "I tried to persuade George to come back but he's happy in retirement. So I'm stuck with the job."

"It's not that bad Jack," Jumper replied, "What happened with the Hague conference?"

"The usual crap. The Italians have decided I'm to blame for what happened during the attack and the Chinese haven't said anything either way. We've just got to wait and see what happens. Either way I'm pretty sure I can tell them to get screwed."

"Hayes is behind you, so is Murray. Don't know about the others, but the Hague can't touch you without the rest of the planet going up in arms about it." Jumper replied. "Forget it. We've got more important matters to deal with than a powerless court pandering to the wants of a few people with a bug up their ass about what happened."

"Yeah, I've got all this great responsibility, going from a command of a small unit to the entire protection of this planet in two short years. Yep, I'm right up there with the rest of you."

"A joint chief isn't a bad job, just a lot more paperwork," Jumper smirked.

"Maybe, but until I get the fleet back up and running I've not got much of a job to do. Fortunately that won't be too long if the schedules right."

"How so?" asked Jumper.

"I've got sixteen Apollos on the slipways at the moment. The main fleet is almost repaired except the Korolev and dozens of 302s are almost completed. Most of the flight systems, life support, computers and everything else is easily built, so are the fuselages and main hulls. But we've not got enough Naquada from mother lode or trinium from the mining outposts, worst of all is we don't have the crews we need to fly the damned things."

"What about all those supplies the Hebridans sent our way?"

"Most of its raw naquada, not weapons or construction grade so it's not as much as we hoped." Jack continued eating. "Trinium is even scarcer. With the repairs to the ships that needed it plus the overhaul of the Daedalus' hull after the last trip to Atlantis, we are up shit creek. Thing is even if we could build the ships we needed we don't have the crews we need to fly the damned things."

"Considering the numbers of volunteers that have stepped up from our ranks I'm surprised."

"We've got thirty thousand or more recruits for the space force. The problem is they are from more than a dozen different countries and over half haven't even served on a naval warship or in an Air Force. And the ones that have need to be retrained in the 302s or aboard the Daedalus simulators."

"So, how long?"

"About three weeks before the Apollos come online, probably the same for the Korolev. Prometheus' main cannon is still being a bitch even for the Asgard, looks like it'll have to be stripped out at least." O'Neill pushed his palms to his eyes trying to rub the fatigue away. "The rest as far as I know are repaired and awaiting their rotations. I'm still waiting for the rest of the reports from the IOA countries before I can even think of figuring out how we're going to fight this war."

"How's the new shipyard construction coming?" Paulson asked.

"Twenty Daedalus class shipyards, all in IOA territory. We can build the yards easy enough but supplying them with the resources to build them, that's something else. We should have a stockpile of what we need by the time the last one is built but it'll still take a year to get the new fleet operational. I need a new idea."

"There's always the Hebridian shipyards, they've offered us six yards to build warships plus another two for support ships." Paulson replied, "With their technology we should get eight ships every five months maybe more."

"We can't rent their yards." O'Neill replied, "The problem is with the technology we've got on board the Daedalus class, the Asgard won't allow their weapons, shields, or hyper drives to become available to the galaxy at large. The IOA have problems with allowing our computers to be installed anywhere outside of our direct control."

"Could we build the main hulls there and install the equipment here once the ships arrive?"

"We could, but the NSA and pretty much everyone else are going on about hidden bugs in the hull or corridors or anything else. Since the attack by the Colonials and problems with sympathisers the IOA have been paranoid about allowing any of our tech out of sight. We'll likely take them up on building supply ships and the hulls of the Apollos, but that's it."

"Wouldn't they have just as much chance of ripping off our systems if we fit the Apollos class ships back here; and what about the Battlestars?" Davis asked shovelling pasta into his mouth. "Those things are big enough to do some damage especially if we can adapt their cannons. I'm not a technical type but how hard would it be to refit?"

"I don't know and I've haven't asked." O'Neill admitted. "We've had enough problems trying to get the first lot of Apollos ready. If we could get those ships in place even just firing their missile batteries and heavy guns we'd be able to hold off any serious attack on any of our critical outposts by the Colonials, or the Lucian Alliance."

Jumper looked thoughtful as he finished his own dessert. The entire fleet were being kept in place close by Earth causing problems with exploration and resupply of the Alpha and Gamma Sites, the mines and Atlantis. The addition of a few of these vessels to the fleet would solve a massive number of problems the fleet is looking at more so once the other ships came online.

"How powerful are the heavy rounds on those Battlestars?" he asked.

"They could blow through our ships with their heavier cannons if our shields go down so I guess they might be pretty strong. But against shielded ships they would be useless. We've already seen that. Unless they can sustain fire to overload or physically shift the generators in their housings they aren't a threat," Jack replied.

"That's what I thought. They are useless against our enemies here. The weapons replacement alone could be prohibitive but the shields would be easily mass produced and installed."

Davis looked up as he realised the implications of the General's line of thought, a fleet of shielded Battlestars would be of considerable use to the IOA fleet. Installing the Battlestars and other heavy ships in orbit would allow for them to create a second layer of defence between the fleet and the rapidly depleting drones of the Antarctica Outpost. Against Colonial forces the weapons would be a match while the shielding would make them all but impervious to counter fire.

"There is another enemy that we have that would be vulnerable to colonial fire, especially the armour piercing and explosive heads used by their heavier cannons. We already know Wraith ships if caught unawares can be crippled by the main railguns aboard the Daedalus class," Davis replied, "Spinal weapons and those larger flak cannons would pierce most, if not all the armour of a Wraith ship. If suitably shielded Atlantis would have a decent defence perimeter."

"I don't see that as being feasible Colonel," Jumper replied. "The resources that would have to be rededicated to refitting those ships completely would cripple our production of our own warships here. We're talking shield generators for the entire ship, replacing the power systems with naquada reactors and the cables to power the ship, new sensor grids to increase reaction time and accuracy, rebuilding the engines to accept our power systems. Combined, we're looking at a hell of a lot of badly needed resources."

"I understand that Sir, but as we ramp up production, construction of most of those systems will outstrip the actual use of those same systems. Even taking into account spares needed for repair and testing we should be able to construct enough reactors cables and computer/sensor systems to refit a Battlestar every few months. More of we can begin trade to acquire more of each from the Jaffa or any of our other allies."

"We could use those shipyards the Hebridans have offered us to refit a few of those Battlestars," replied O'Neill. "That kind of firepower would be a damn stupid thing to waste. The paranoia the IOA have over the spying that's inevitable would be non existent. Colonial tech is pretty far below the common tech out there after all."

"_Code Red, Code Red, all hands to duty stations. Senior officers to the command center. This is a Code red."_

"Damn it, what now? Where's the phone?" O'Neill asked.

"Conference room Sir. The screen and encrypted subspace lines are connected up already," Davis replied. "We should also have a datalink system already in place at the Antarctica outpost and the SGC. The conference room is just off of the command center."

"Big screen and good food. I might have to move in here permanently," O'Neill quipped. "Alright Colonel, show us the way. I have a feeling that things are gonna get worse."

_**SGC Upper Levels**_

_**Dr Felger's Office**_

"I'm telling you, we've got a hundred systems within fifty light years we've never even bothered to look at. Alpha Centauri is what four light years from here and we've not gone to have a look because it doesn't have a gate."

"It's not like we have the ships to spare, Felger. We do kinda need them to protect the planet." Coombs replied.

"I'm not saying send the Daedalus or an Asgard ship, but why not build or buy a small ship from someone and go and have a look at the planets without gates. We could end up finding trinium, naquada, gold, platinum, titanium or God know what else, something we could use to protect earth and really show the Colonials what Earth is really capable of."

"You don't think sending up a massive nuke and killing most of their fleet showed that?"

"They sent two hundred ships, big deal. We've got five warships and they've got five thousand. If they really wanted they could get through our defences and nuke the entire surface of this planet. They didn't because they got pissy and believed they were capable of taking us down. Next time we might be looking down the barrel of some bloody big guns."

"By the time they can get here again we'll have a bigger fleet ready to give them a kicking. Have you seen those Apollos?"

"Doesn't matter Coombs. We need to get more equipment, more supplies and more ships and if we don't find them then we might as well give up now."

"So what are you saying, we should steal a ship and go joyriding?"

"You're not that dense so don't pretend you are. There's are hundreds of ships out there we could get hold of and use to search around the nearest stars. Imagine the kind of things we could find? There's thirty planets within fifty light years that are uncharted and unchecked. What if one of them has a mine the size of mother lode? We'd be swimming in Naquada and trinium."

"And if we find something nastier like an abandoned Replicator outpost? We'd unleash a horror unlike anything that we could comprehend. It could be worse, a hybrid of Goa'uld and Wraith able to take over your brain and suck out life from anyone they wanted to, plunging us into a dark ages what we will never recover from."

"And you really need help Coombs," he responded. "The replicators are gone; the Wraith have never even seen the milky way and the Goa'uld are defeated. We should stick to finding ways to stop the Colonials from blowing up our planet. We need to find a way to shut them down from range or at least find weak spots in their technology," Felger pointed out. "Now from what I can tell they used networked ships using cables and silicon chips just like most of Earth's computers."

"Yeah but their networks are primitive and have almost no wireless capability, not even WIFI or infrared. Heck my home computer could run one of their destroyers and that's without the server I've got it connected to."

"They aren't that bad, Coombs."

"Have you seen their equipment? It's so old that Babbage could have used it and still fixed it so it added up better. Their computers still uses card and paper for god's sake."

"Stop being so obtuse. Their systems are behind ours, so what? They are obviously powerful enough and big enough to run those huge battlewagons and still have enough left over for data-linking and controlling their fighter wings. That's a lot of power for any machine, but that brute force could stop any information attack we try on their ships. We need something big and nasty to break through their firewalls. Wireless transmission is useless so it would need to be inserted somehow. That pretty much kills any chance of using a virus of any kind."

"What about the radio or sensors?"

"What?"

"Well, they take in DATS, don't they? A networked virus could go in through either medium. A logic bomb should do it, or a worm to override their main computers."

"Do you know how long it would take to learn their programming then adapt a virus to their computers? It took us years to link Earth computers to Goa'uld systems and that's with help from people that can speak and understand a dozen or more languages plus a dozen of the greatest scientific minds on the planet. Carter's off doing whatever it is she's doing, McKay is four million light years away, Lee is heading up the entire SGC scientific lab, Rothman's Dead, Harmon's Dead, Scrabbs is…" Felger all but shouted.

"What about putting the colonial coding into free domain, you're telling me that if you had had the chance to break these codes back when you first started out you wouldn't have needed to change your pants?"

"Your talking about giving the basis of the entire classified computer breaking project to a bunch of teenage hackers and a load of wannabe players in the cyber arena. You know what that'll do to our own coding, our own programs. They break the colonial transmissions and what's next, Nuclear Codes? The keys to the Prometheus?"

"Ok, ok, I get the point. Jeez, stop being so damned melodramatic."

"I'm not being melodramatic, I'm being serious. We're at war and everything I've got down here is based on fighting the Goa'uld and now they've gone I've got nothing else left to offer."

"What about your idea with those scout ships and the mission to Tollana?"

"The Tollana mission has been put on the back burner AGAIN. This one will be just as bad if not worse. We'd have to do all kinds of modifications to their scout ships and then test them. I don't know why I bothered to say anything in the first place."

"It isn't the worst idea. You were right there are billions of tons of trinium there waiting to be grabbed. But I can guess why they won't send a single ship let alone an unarmed scout ship. After what happened with that woman that tried to steal the Prometheus last year I doubt they'd send anything less than a Capital ship if at all."

"So we're stuffed."

"Pretty much, but hey at least things can't get any worse."

"_Code Red, Code Red, all hands to duty stations. Senior officers to the Briefing Room. This is a Code red."_

"What the hell were you thinking!?" Felgar shouted at a startled Coombs. "If you've just got us killed, I'm gonna make sure you suffer first."

"Umm, Sorry?" was Coombs' only reply.

_**Homeworld Security Command Center**_

_**Nevada Desert**_

_**Two Thousand Meters below the surface.**_

"Activate main communications array, link into Stargate Command, NORAD and White house communications grids," Davis ordered. The communications officers dropped into their seats brining the dormant systems online. "White Queen this is Black Knight, we are online, come in."

"_Black Knight this is White Queen, standby for transmission link to White Kind and Black Rook."_ A voice came from the left hand screen, the NORAD symbol flashing as the links took hold.

"Standing by," Davis replied.

"What's going on Davis?" Jumper asked.

"I don't know Sir. The comms systems are barely operational as it is."

"All units this is White Queen, transmission grids are stable, lock in scrambler codes Delta Delta seven."

"Lt, scramble codes."

"Scrambler online Sir."

"This is Black Rook, SGC online.

"_This is White King, White House Online._

"_This is Black Knight, Homeworld Command Online."_

"_This is White Queen, NORAD Online."_

"_Ok Black Rook, this is Eagle Command. What's the emergency?"_ The voice of the president piped up."

"Sir." The voice of Landry responded, "Thirty minutes ago the Atlantis Expedition opened up an unscheduled wormhole to Earth, the information sent wasn't pleasant. To make a long story short Sir, Atlantis was played. The Wraith have managed to secure the exact co-ordinates of Earth from the Atlantis database. While the city has access to an ancient warship they don't have a chance of stopping the Wraith ships before they get to the Milky Way."

"What the fuck?" Jumper shouted, "Just how stupid are the people in that city?"

"Apparently the Wraith managed to install a virus into the system. No one on the city could find it in the programming we were given. While I don't have all the facts, we do know two Wraith hive ships are on their way and they already have a several days head start on us."

"How much time until they arrive, Hank?" Jack asked.

"About ten, maybe less."

"Shit."

"That's pretty much our situation General," Hank replied. "Daedalus and Odyssey are available to intercept, the Asgard ships have also volunteered to go with them. But to be honest Sirs with the technology and the power that those Wraith hives have... those four ships will be hard pressed to stop them. They just don't have the firepower or the numbers to do so."

"So we need something else," Jack said. "Hank get Daniel and Teal'c and have them meet me and Davis aboard the Daedalus. Looks like we're going to have to get some help."

"_Understood."_

"_White Queen this is White King, put all United States units on high alert and staff the outpost just in case. General O'Neill."_

"Yes, Sir?"

"_Is there anything at all we can do to stop these ships from making it to Earth?"_

"I'm not sure Sir. The Wraith all but wiped out the Ancients.Their ships are heavily armed and well armoured, possibly enough to plow through our defences with minimal damage. We've not seen what Alteran drones can do against them but I'd rather not hinge our defence of an unknown. We'll do what we can Sir, but to be honest we'll be damn lucky to stop them before they reach orbit."

"_What about the Allied vessels?" the president asked. "We've still got two Jaffa warships and three Hebridan ships in orbit." _

"They may help Sir, but we'd lose all three of the Hebridan escorts at the minimum plus the Daedalus and the Odyssey, and to be honest Sir I don't see the entire fleet at full power being capable of taking down these ships without some serious back up from the Asgard or the Jaffa. We're too few and too out gunned," Landry replied. "We'll do what we can, Sir."

"_Thank you General, you better get to it."_

"Aye Sir, Black Rook out."

"_Well All I can say to that is good luck to us all gentlemen. White King out."_

The second screen went blank leaving the third still connected via the subspace communications array to NORAD. The visual jumped to the middle screen as the processing power now dedicated to a single transmission brought the imagine in larger and clearer than the original. Looking to both the screen and his own people Jack slumped a little. He had been forced to oversee the last four attacks on his planet from both the front line and the outpost at Antarctica.

"We've got a week people," said O'Neill looking at the officers around him. "One week to get every ship we can in orbit and ready to fight, after that we send the fleet out to corner the Wraith before they can get here. Get every ship we've got flight capable in the air and armed with whatever we've got and increase fighter patrols throughout the solar system. I don't want some opportunist bastard to make a run at us while our backs are turned."

"_Aye Sir, We'll keep our eyes on the sky. White Queen Out." _The screen winked out.

O'Neill turned to the base command staff in the room before ordering the entirety of the IOA defensive structure to a high alert. An understanding had come from the meeting of the Ambassadors that a single unified command structure would be allowed to be controlled from the Crucible under Jack O'Neill's tenure.

"If we take the construction crews off of the Apollos we could get the Korolev and Prometheus in space within a week, or we go vice versa and get eight Apollos in place within nine. Gets us a secondary line of two capital ships or Eight escorts, and that's only if we redirect all supplies and parts from one to the other." General Callahan spoke from behind, "I can get those ships up and running as a backstop, but there's no way to make them hyper capable. They'll also not be suitably worked up for fleet use alongside the other ships."

"Get the Prometheus and Korolev up and running first, anything else you can get up there will be a bonus but I want the Capital ships up there first."

"There is something else Sir. We've been running simulations on the available supplies coming in. We don't have enough to continue building Daedalus class warships at the current rate. We'll outstrip trinium and crystal production within the next four months, sooner if we continue expanding the fleet at the rate we are. The use of the Colonial ships' hulls is keeping the use of Trinium for hull plating and armour has reduced the use to the minimum needed for the Apollos, but there's no way to redesign the Daedalus class to use those alloys."

"I'm guessing you've got a suggestion Frank or you'd not have said anything yet."

"Yes Sir I do, the Daedalus class is a resource hog with the limited material base we have at the moment," Callahan began. "We can get a number of ships in place within the year, but even with the Apollos in mass production it wont be enough against and concentrated force sent against us by the Wraith, Asurans, Lucian Alliance or god forbid a competently led and warned Colonial force. We can stretch the resources we have into more ships if we scale back on Daedalus construction. The shipyards under construction can be modified before completion into docks for modified Prometheus class. The savings in resources will allow almost two ships built for the cost of a single Daedalus. It will also increase our fleet by twice as many ships per year than with building the Daedalus only."

"I thought the Prometheus was to be the only one of her class, the original drydock has already been modified for the Daedalus," Davis said. "How long would it take to refit the shipyards already under construction?"

"We can't refit the main yards, they are already full with new construction but the other yards aren't far enough along to stop a refit. It would give us forty Prometheus docks to the five Daedalus docks already in use and the two the Brits are building, then the Apollos that we're churning out in massive numbers."

"That's a problem then, because the IOA are adamant about getting a full Daedalus fleet in operation as soon as possible." He held up his hands. Yes, yes I know. I've explained that we need something slightly more varied with the problems we've got with building the ships we need. I'm designating fourteen of the new slipways for the refit; keep the other six intact for the Daedalus class. If the IOA get pissy they can take it up with me."

"Yes, Sir." Callahan said. "We should be able to begin building the Prometheus class while still building the rest of the bays. That'll cut down on the time needed to build our ships. But I'm going to need more shipyard workers and specialists if we're going to accelerate the construction time. We're already a quarter below what we need to start building the ships in the space we already have."

"How badly off are we?" Davis asked.

"Without some serious influx of shipwrights and construction engineers we won't have finished the shipyards this side of the year, same with the new fleet. We can build maybe four Daedalus a year at current numbers. We're just in luck as the Apollos can be built by a small number of specialists at the military shipyards at Norfolk, Portsmouth and any other shipyard with suitable dock space." Callahan leant back in his chair. "We've got the volunteers just no way of training them in time."

"Any ideas?" Jack asked.

"None. In order to train as many people as possible as quickly as possible I'd need to take the design and construction teams off of the ships under construction for six months or more. Then we'd need to bring them in easy to gain experience in construction before allowing them even close to our dockyards, that includes the transfers from military shipyards, the submarine service and the allied countries' own people."

"So no crews for warships, no material for warships and no way of constructing docks for warships." Jack swore under his breath. "Have I missed anything?"

"I don't think so, Sir."

"Great."

"So supplies, no resources and no people," Jumper laughed. "Welcome to the Joint Chiefs, Jack."


	12. Chapter Eleven

Chapter 11

Chapter 11

'_**The Crucible'**_

_**Homeworld Security Command Centre**_

_**Nevada**_

Paul Davis looked up from the situation table at the rear of the Crucible's control room. Since the alert by the SGC about the Hive ships, the incomplete crucible had been fully staffed. Davis had been transferred from the Pentagon to the Executive officer's position at Homeworld Security's new command centre deep under the deserts of Nevada. His job was once again liaising between the SGC, the Pentagon and now the forth set of the combined armed forces. Homeworld Security had gone from a small but powerful office of the American Government to the most junior of the IOA's Armed forces.

His surprise at O'Neill's request had been palpable when it had come through. His position and clearance codes for the base had been temporary as he oversaw its construction. Once Jack had taken official command of the base he had immediately begun putting a senior staff into place, people he trusted and knew could do the jobs he chose them for. Davis had apparently been at the top of his list for reasons known only to O'Neill. Paul had been honoured to accept the position but had begun to argue that he was too junior a rank to continue in this position.

The full Eagles that had been thrown to him by O'Neill had shut him up almost immediately. He really wasn't looking for a second promotion in as many years. Jack had sat him down and in no uncertain words had persuaded Davis to continue on at HWS for a year to help with the integration and construction of the worldwide network that would feed and provide them for the foreseeable future.

Needless to say he had agreed to it.

He had been in effective command since the Crucible had been fully activated a few days beforehand. The engineer battalions had been reinforced by the Royal Engineers of the British Armed forces and a number of Russian construction teams were currently using the Asgard transporters and Tok'ra crystals to build the massive tunnel that would link the Daedalus class shipyards with the headquarters. The defences would be the last thing installed within the next week or so, shielding and self-destruct both. Meanwhile transfer of duties to the station had already begun with the fleet, the F- 302 squadrons, and the myriad shipyards worldwide, Stargate Command, and the intelligence units all answering directly to O'Neill and Davis.

The control of surveillance systems had been transferred from the SGC, NORAD and other IOA sites to the Crucible almost immediately after the activation. Hundreds of analysts and tech personnel had transferred to run the webs of scanners and probes controlled by earth's space forces. Currently every square mile of the solar system was under close scrutiny by the Goa'uld and Asgard based sensors. Three small 'stealth' probes had been picked up in close orbit of the moon, ostensibly dropped there by a colonial ship before the attack and possibly overlooked due to their size and low profiles and the fact that the Colonials were running for all they were worth.

Both had been left in position with false radio and visual signals being transmitted to them, massive but brief data bursts of a very low but still FTL speed were sent regularly one every three days towards the colonies. The misinformation may well be of little use considering the failure of the Colonial's earlier attempts but even a few threads could derail their next attack. The Earth's own intelligence network however had been set up shortly after the assault by the Colonial fleet. They would have to wait until a covert Colonial retrieval unit picked up the probes and returned them before the hidden programming could go into effect.

Three small probes had been set up in the outer depths of the colonial system, one each for the three suns allowing the SGC and now Homeworld Security to study the unusual system and to keep an eye on the movements of the Colonial fleet. The subspace-based communications and highly advanced cloaking device made the probes all but invisible to any known race outside of the Asgard and possibly the City of Atlantis.

Davis walked up to one of the side screens. A dozen personnel were scanning the readouts from the probes. Still pictures and visual feeds stretching over the weeks since the attack on the Picon Anchorage by the Odyssey were spread out over monitors and white boards.

"What's the latest Captain?" Davis asked.

"Well, the first pictures confirm that Picon is basically uninhabitable for at least several decades or centuries. When we blew the Anchorage and the surrounding area massive fallout entered the atmosphere. But massive amounts of debris survived re-entry and hit the surface. We've got earthquakes, tidal waves, volcanoes, pretty much anything that could happen has. But that's not the worst we've found."

"Go on."

"The planet is baking in radiation. Thousands of tons of nuclear contaminated debris are mixed in with the rest. When the Anchorage went up its magazine, main reactors, docked ships, anything carrying nuclear waste or weapons spilt their loads into the atmosphere or onto the ground. But there's something else as well. We've picked up a number of transmissions we've loosely translated. Here, listen to this."

The communications board crackled as signals gathered from the Colonial wavelengths were piped through the speakers on the desk, the Kobollian language easily translated through the Asgard designed computer systems.

"…_should protect any of those whom have not contacted the disease yet……dealing with a completely new and unknown virus and there are no cures for virus related disease, the common cold being the perfect example."_

"_How long before it's ready to be distributed to the general population?" _

"_It'll be another two weeks before it will be available for everyone's use. The Picon plague as some are calling it has been a disaster of planetary proportions ……this disease didn't originate from Picon's biosphere..."_

"A disease?" Davis asked

"Yes, Sir. Apparently they suffer from shivers, headaches, difficulty breathing, fluid in the lungs, sniffles, fevers, the lot."

"Flu? They've got the flu?"

"Apparently, Sir. It's airborne and infecting people at an almost geometric rate. Apparently they have no antibodies against it. We're still decoding some of their signals and translating as fast as we can. However they got it, its flu and by all account a pretty nasty strain. Makes the 1919 outbreak look like a sniffle. Their broadcasts are full of notices about people contracting it, quarantines, murders of the Piconese survivors whether they were on world or not and confirmed infection or death of almost a quarter of a billion people. Their secure medical records are being decoded as we speak."

"Shit, ok send the information to the SGC's medical department and the CDC. Find out if they can get anything out of it and what we might be looking at. If it is a version of flu I want to know how it's so virulent and how it could have been transmitted."

"Aye, Sir."

"What else?"

"We were right about their secondary fleets. We've got confirmed sightings of a half dozen scrap yards and what we're tentatively identifying as red lead fleet stations throughout the entire sector. A few dozen heavy warships about Battlestar-sized or bigger have been pulled out of those sites. Hundreds maybe thousands of smaller escorts are being prepped or taken apart for some reason or another, probably salvage. We've not really go the range or resolution to go into much more detail past that."

"What about their shipyards, anything there?"

"Twenty heavy capital ships have been launched in the last week; Battlestars, a Warstar and something even bigger that I don't really want to guess at. But if it's carrying anything like the Battlestars were then we won't be taking them down anytime soon." He manipulated some of the screens to show clouds forming around the inhabited planets, the range was much too far for their equipment to get even a reasonably clear estimate."

"Fighters?"

"Yes Sir and I'm guessing that the fighter wings we saw with the attack fleet was barely scratching the real numbers they can assemble," Wilson said. "If they have nearly the fighter contingents we have on Earth on each of their planets then we are going to be in serious need of better AA guns or improved fighters of our own. "But this is what I'm most wary about."

The screen changed as a blurred outline appeared at the very edges of the probe's range. The outline sharpened slightly as the image was enhanced by the computers. An unfamiliar sickle shaped object was sitting outside of nominal Colonial Radar range, a larger blocky shaped craft hanging back from the object. Two more images appeared from the other probes showing more curved images appearing one second only to disappear the next. They were telltale flashes of Colonial FTL preceding them.

"Shit, are those what I think they are?"

"Yes Sir, if the Colonials have any serious numbers of FTL capable fighters in their inventory then they can bypass out shields, our defences -everything that we send up will be useless," Wilson explained. "But I don't think that they are Colonial or at least not officially. Each of the fighters that have dropped in system has done so outside of Radar range. The only signals we've managed to catch have gone outside Colonial space. If I was to guess I'm believe that they are probably Cylons."

"Cylons?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Send the information to the SGC's medical department and the CDC. Find out if they can get anything out of it and what we might be looking at. If it is a version of flu I want to know how it's so virulent and how it could have been transmitted."

"Aye, Sir.

"Colonel Davis, we've got Atlantis online via the SGC." They were interrupted by a call across their headsets, "Major Lorne with their status report."

"Thank you Lt, keep on it. Captain I want a report on the movements of their entire armed forces for the past week." He told the officer, he walked back to the command consoles in the middle of the room. "Put them on my screen, Lt Norris."

"_This is Lost City to Black Knight, come in please." _Major Lorne's tired face appeared on the viewscreen. _"Repeat, this is Lost City to Black Knight come in."_

"This is Black Knight we receive you Lost City," Davis replied. "Report Major."

"_Sir, we have an update on the Wraith ships."_

"How bad is it, Evan?"

"_Pretty bad Sir. The Wraith ships are being forced out of hyperspace every few days to decontaminate their ships, seems that hyperspace radiation is harmful to their organic ships. Doctor Zelenka is monitoring them from both Atlantis and the Orion, but even if the Orion were fully powered she wouldn't be able to move fast enough to catch up with the hives."_

"They aren't in range of our scans yet, so we're guessing they are still close to a week out from the Milky Way."

"_Likely, Sir. They are pretty far outside our own scan radius as well. We've got no clue where that are or what they are doing, we're readying the city and the Orion for possible sustained combat against the Wraith but for all intents Sir we're in a bad state here. We need reinforcements, more supplies to repair the ship enough to fight the Wraith, weapons, personnel, in short Sir we need the Daedalus and a lot of support."_

"Understood Major, we don't have any starship support available right now. Everything we have is mobilising to meet the Wraith before they can make it to any inhabited world. The Prometheus and Korolev will only be ready as a back stop, the rest of the fleet will be doing what they can to stop the Wraith."

"_Can we expect any ground assistance?"_

"Without a ZPM we can't keep the stargate open long enough to send any substantial reinforcements. If we can stop the Wraith we'll do our best to send the Daedalus with some serious firepower for ground defences. We have a few other plans to try and get the Asgard to power the gate from one of their ships. Again it will depend on stopping these hive ships first."

"_We understand Sir. We'll do our best to get the Orion up and running. We could do with the extra firepower on this side of the gate. One good bit of news Sir, Lt. Colonel Sheppard has managed to get some of the internal systems of the Orion working at full power. Some of the others are in pretty good condition as well." _

"Good work, any news on McKay or Ronan?"

"_They've been confirmed as on one of the hives. We don't know why they've been taken but considering Michael we can take a guess that it's not just as food or for fun. McKay knows a lot about our operations both here and at Atlantis. The security risk here is substantial even if they weren't on their way to the Milky Way."_

Davis scrubbed his face with his hands as he continued to listen. McKay was responsible for half the new systems upgrades in the last year alone. The redesigns of the internal computer networks are based on his programming skills. "This isn't good."

"_No Sir it isn't. We need them both back here. No one knows this city like McKay. We owe him a hell of a lot, Sir. Hell we own both of them."_

"Alright Evan we'll do our best to get them back, but we won't risk Earth or the loss of any of our ships even for those two. If we have to take down the Hives first then we will, hostages or not."

Lorne deflated. _"Yes Sir."_

"We'll get them back Lorne, I'm not going to give up on them just yet."

"_Thank you Sir."_ Lorne paused. _"How bad is it over there?"_

"Bad enough," he sighed. "The Hague is deliberating over O'Neill being indicted for war crimes and breaking the anti-nuke treaties. The surviving members of the Olympian religious sects are being hunted down like animals. More than a hundred made it to British, Canadian and American embassies to ask for asylum. All of the staff at those embassies has been briefed for immediate evac as necessary."

"_They'd attack allied embassies?"_ Lorne exclaimed in disbelief before shaking his head. _"Sir Doctor Weir and Colonel Sheppard have been inundated with transfer requests back home, mostly those from the Chinese and Mediterranean areas and I can't say that I blame them. Most of us want to get back to help out somehow, especially when we take the fight back to the Colonials."_

"I understand that Evan," Paul sighed. "I'll talk to the General, he'll have to authorise a mass transfer either way to make up the shortfall. Anything else?"

"_Negative, we're clear."_

"We'll expect your usual report in two weeks."

"_If nothing untoward happens yes Sir. Good luck with the Wraith Sir. We'll keep a candle burning. Lost City out."_

The screen shut down returning to the spinning logo of Homeworld Security. Davis brought up the schematics they had on the Wraith Hives, massive bio-technical constructs of chitin, shell, internal organs, metallic compounds, living computers and some kind of unknown power generation. The Daedalus and Atlantis had faced down the Wraith a number of times, managing to take down more than half a dozen of the massive beasts through luck or cunning.

All four ships designated for the attack forces were undergoing final refit and supply as well as war gaming between the two groups of ships. Both Daedalus crews had been shocked at the martial abilities of the usually quiet and unassuming Asgard. In nine engagements the Asgard had lost one due to an unanticipated attack by the Daedalus and Odyssey. Since that point the twin Beliskners had consistently destroyed the Tau'ri Battlecruisers in every game with no losses in crew or ships.

"Contact the Battlecruiser fleet yards, security frequency thirty-four," he ordered the communications board. "General Callahan's office."

"Yes Sir," Lt O'Reilly said. "White Bishop this is Black Knight, communications scramble Alpha six."

"Alpha Six, Aye." The communications shifted into static as the audio signal scrambled and changed from basic radio to subspace communications. The short range receiver between the two stations was powerful enough and tightly streamed to keep all but direct interception from hearing the message. _"This is White Bishop, Pawn to Queen Six."_

Davis gave the countersign. "Queen Takes Knight. Check."

"_Thank you Sir."_ The screen formed into a visual signal of the General's office at the SGC shipyards. Callahan sat behind his desk files pooled around him.

"_Colonel Davis."_

"Sir."

_"How can I help you?"_

"I'm just requesting an update on the fleet status for General O'Neill. Are any of the ships close to launch status?"

"_With the exception of the Ajax no such luck. The Prometheus' main gun and reactors have had to be stripped out so we can rebuild and resettle the systems. I'm sending a report across to you and to Colonel Carter at the SGC, Doctor Zelenka at Atlantis and the Joint Chiefs."_ Callahan tapped on his keyboard, a half second later a file popped up on Davis' screen_. "We might well have a problem with protracted engagements against the Colonials if the damage to the Prometheus and Korolev has anything to go by."_

The file was concise to Davis eyes. The Prometheus had taken a massive number of hits from the nukes and main cannons of the Colonial Battlestars. The impacts while they were ineffective to the powerful energy fields had sent concussive damage through those same shields and into the generators. All across the ship those self same generators had been unseated by the massive kinetic impacts to the shields. The shock had then spread to some of the surrounding systems causing shorts and microscopic damages to crystals and circuit boards.

Damage to those systems had caused the overload and shut down of the reactors and the main Asgard cannon. Further exploration on all the ships had found fractures throughout the generator housings and the main railguns. All of it was easily repaired onboard by the Daedalus crews or the shipyards during resupply/refit, but it also meant that the Prometheus would be out of commission for several weeks while new systems were installed and hull parts fabricated.

"I see, Sir. Then we have a problem with the fleet expansion if all the Prometheus class suffer from the same affliction."

"_We've replaced the housings with trinium/carbon/titanium alloys and the crystals and computer systems in the area are being rerouted through other junctions. There isn't much else we can do with the current ships we have, but the redesigns we've been putting together should absorb most if not all of the shock damage. But either way we'll still have to replace damaged crystals and housing after each combat."_

"Does this explain how the Apollo was taken down?"

"_No, the Apollo was taken down because her shields weren't complete nor was the reactor system. Combined with a mass twenty times her own, meant the shield popped like a bubble. None of our ships would survive that kind of impact intact. We were lucky with the Korolev, but that's about it. I'd be hesitant to say an Asgard ship could take that kind of beating and survive."_

"What about the rest of our ships?"

"_The Korolev has its hull resealed and the main reactor up and running but the shields housings are still missing and the rebuilt starboard bay is still separate from the main hull. We can have her in orbit within a week without the bay or railguns, ten days with railguns and shields at full. But I won't send her up until the last moment or if we're in that dire straits. Without the second bay she'll be awkward to turn and too slow to get away from the Wraith," _Callahan said smiling grimly he continued with his report. _"The good news is I can have two maybe three full squadrons of Apollos in space inside of two weeks. The teams off the Prometheus and the help we've received from the other IOA countries have sped up our construction significantly." _

When it rained, it poured. Murphy must have been laughing his butt off. "That's the other reason for this call, Sir. We've had contact from Atlantis. The Wraith are closer than we thought," he finished. Atlantis lost contact with them a few hours ago. We've yet to pick them up this side either. We've got an estimate of two weeks before they enter the galaxy and another three days before they reach Earth. We're going to launch the fleet within ten days, try to hit them in the void before they can infest any planet with a gate_."_

"_And if they get past the fleet that leaves the Ajax and the outpost between them and us, great."_ Callahan sighed_. "Seventeen days before they reach us._ _Looks like I have some work to do then. We'll have your ships before then Colonel even if I have to strap SRBs to them, have the all the active secondary crews report to the shipyards as soon as possible we'll let you know when we're ready for action."_

"Understood Sir, Black Knight out."

"_White Bishop Out."_

"Not too good is it, Colonel?"

Davis looked behind his shoulder at his Commanding officer. O'Neill frowned as he digested the news. In all he had less than a week to build up their defences, ready their ships for a long range assault and make sure enough personnel were left to keep the crews being trained with enough instructors to complete their basic and advanced training.

"No sir, things are going from bad to worse both here and at the Colonies. Some kind of infection is running throughout the Colonies, not to mention the damage done to Picon after the attack." Davis stood up, "Sir to be honest we weren't expecting anything on this scale, they've lost more than a hundred times what we have and that number will keep climbing."

"Feeling a little guilty Colonel."

"Yes Sir I am. I understand we had to hit back but I never thought it would be close to this kind of damage. Killing their fleets is one thing but wiping out an entire planetary population isn't something that we should be considering… especially now that the Horizon is almost complete."

"We will not be using that monstrosity against the Colonies Davis. It's the biggest nastiest weapon we can build right now and I refuse to drop it on any inhabited world as long as I'm head of Homeworld Security," O'Neill replied. "We'll do this by the numbers Colonel, civilians are a no go. Give me your report."

"Aye, Sir." Davis relaxed slightly. "We'll have a single capital ship fully operational and ready for active duty in Earth space when the fleet leaves. Maybe another twenty smaller barely combat capable warships before the Wraith make it to Earth. We'll be able to crew them all if we pull out the stops and risk losing the small pool of personnel we have trained for shipboard operations, past that we've got nothing at all."

"What happened to the prototype squadrons?"

"The Vipers are a capable craft Sir, two squadrons a piece were completed on time. The Snake Eaters' report is that we should forget the Vipers and stick with the 302s, none of the wargames had the Vipers get close enough to their targets to take them on. The best chance we would have is to arm them with nukes and send them in en masse with 302 escorts, even then we're looking at more than fifty percent losses against the Wraith or the Colonials."

"So no go for the battle?"

"No Sir, we could refit them to carry some Mk eights but not enough to get through the Wraith's defences."

"We'll use them to augment the secondary fleet if we need them, have a ready supply of Mk8s sent to the squadrons."

"Sir, permission to speak freely."

"Granted."

"To be blunt Sir, the Apollos are death traps against the Wraith. They've been built with the Colonial fighter squadrons in mind, not hive ships. If the Wraith get in range of that fleet we can say good bye to the entire lot, adding in the Vipers to that group would be tantamount to suicide killing pilots we can ill afford."

"The Wraith won't make it to Earth, Colonel. I'm going to make sure of that," O'Neill replied. Standing up he secured his cap under his arm. "Come on, Danny and T are waiting for us aboard the Odyssey. There's somewhere we can get some help from but I don't think we've got a hope in hell of them saying yes."

_**Colonial Prisoner Of War Camp**_

_**Guantanamo Bay**_

_**Cuba**_

_**Fifty Miles from United States Mainland**_

A flash of light brought the attention of hundreds of the Colonial prisoners. As it faded four people stood in what was formally empty space. Most of the Colonials had seen the technology in action but were still unnerved by the idea of an energy transmission transferring them between one place and another. The SGC had been forced to use shuttles, cargo ships and the colonial's own Raptors to move the hundreds of thousands of personnel from their vessels and fighters down to the island.

The United Nations and even a number of IOA countries themselves had demanded the fair and equal treatment of the Colonials as accorded the Human rights and Geneva conventions. Religions and belief structures belonging to the Colonials had had to be respected leading to a massive effort on both sides to evacuate the surviving people from the Colonial fleet.

Uproars at the efforts taken to bring what was seen as a force of evil to the surface were evident worldwide. As demonstrations and outright riots had rippled throughout the world none more than around the east coast of America and the island of Cuba itself. Castro himself had made a rare appearance condemning the actions of the United States for their actions in protecting the POWs.

The promise of money and supplies to the Cuban mainland in exchange for the tip of the island becoming a high security encampment had changed Castro's mind very quickly. Little had been heard from the communist government since but the country as a whole was enjoying the fruits of the bargain. Riots on the Florida mainland had exploded as families and survivors of the attack at Kentucky had cried for the heads of the Colonials. Other IOA stations had come under siege from the peoples of Kentucky, Tennessee, Washington, Nevada, London, Lincoln, Edinburgh, Moscow and almost a hundred other cities worldwide.

The United States Navy, Royal Navy and a number of allied forces had begun patrolling around Cuba, and several of the South American islands due to the increasing threat of retaliation against the IOA and the Colonial survivors. The Royal Navy had already forced two Argentinean registered 'privateer' ships away from the under construction shipyard at Mount Pleasant. The Argentineans had claimed total ignorance of the attack and had pulled their forces back to their country as a gesture of goodwill. Two carrier groups patrolling the seas around Cuba and the Eastern Seaboard had destroyed or forced away a number of rogue and supported attacks on the POW camp. Hundreds of lives had been lost on either side as submarines and cruisers took on carriers and Frigates. A single missile had made it into Cuban airspace only to be shot down by a well aimed hit from a defence post inland. The ship that fired the missile was then blasted from low orbit by a railgun bombardment from the Odyssey.

The Colonials were unable to see outside of the thick massive walls surrounding three of the four sides of the prison, the forth wall stretched out with a view of a massive beach stretching out into the Atlantic ocean the far off shapes of American and British frigates watching the area for any attempts at escape or attack.

"This is a bad idea, Jack."

"Well we've not exactly got a lot of choice Daniel. If this goes badly we'll end up with a lot more dead on this planet than in any other attack by any other country in history. Twenty thousand Wraith means twenty thousand dead a day or more. If we have to sacrifice a few necessities or make a few promises then so be it. Besides if we have to I have a few other plans."

"Sounds Ominous," Daniel replied.

"Indeed," Teal'c said. "I do not agree though that this is as you say a bad idea. The Colonials can be as formidable as can their ships. If we are as in need of vessels to fight the Wraith as you say then we would require the help of the Colonials."

"They won't exactly be friendly to us Teal'c. We wiped out hundred of their ships, killed almost half a million of their people and have been told in no uncertain terms that we are the closest thing to evil that they can imagine. I doubt they would be willing to help us."

"What about the Cylon prisoners," the Jaffa asked. "They have been co-operative and have been more than willing to assist us with our understanding of their technology and the societies of both the Colonies and Cylons."

"Not enough of them and most are pilots, deck crews, or engineers."

"So no one to fly 'em and no one to command em," Jack said. "Peachy."

"Makes perfect sense Jack," Daniel rejoined. "If they become too well known the chances of being discovered would be dangerous at least. Staying in the lower ranks or smaller jobs would allow you to go about your business without anybody else caring much. Three of the model sixes are blonde while another is brunette. The blondes are eye catching enough that the other would be able to run around without anybody realising they were the same person."

"So three playboy bunnies jump in your lap and you don't notice the cleaner until she's gone?"

"Something like that, Jack."

The entryway to the complex was guarded and sealed by a half dozen Special Forces soldiers and a portable shield borrowed from the Tok'ra. Other hidden defences were scattered all around the area giving the illusion of light security in the face of a concerted assault.

"Halt," the lead guard ordered. "This is a restricted area, identify yourselves."

"General O'Neill, Commanding Officer Homeworld Security and Party."

"Codeword, Sir."

"Word of the day is Hyperion."

"Clearance Codes."

"O'Neill Jonathan, password Alka-seltzer; clearance code Hotel Sierra One Nine Seven Seven Two Four Juliet."

"Davis, Paul, Password Henderson; clearance code Prometheus Kilo Nine Nine Seven Two Three Three Bravo."

"Jackson, Daniel, Password Frasier; clearance code Sierra Golf One Zero Zero Zero Seven Six Niner Four Bravo."

"Teal'c, Password Del Shakka Mel, clearance Code Sierra Golf One Zero Zero Three."

The guard's earpiece chattered quietly as the codes were confirmed. The rifles shifted their aim up and away from the group as the shield went down. The guards snapping a salute to the ranking officer and his entourage. O'Neill returned the salute and dropped his arm."

"Sorry Sir, just doing our jobs."

"No problem Sgt, because if you hadn't been you'd be at McMurdo within the day."

"Yes Sir. If you would please place your hands and eyes on the scanner, we'll see about letting you through."

The scanners were much like the optical and handprint versions at the SGC and HWS. Without pause each of the group were scanned and permitted entrance through the titanium/trinium doors making up the entrance into the security perimeter. Once through the shielding and doors snapped back on the guards returned to their positions.

"I'm just glad the Goa'uld aren't as capable of making prisoner camps." Jack smiled wistfully. "I don't think even Carter could figure a way out of this one."

"I am still uncertain as to why these forms of encampment were created O'Neill. I do understand that the people of Earth would return their enemies home once that battle was concluded. But the Colonials would not be so forgiving as to take prisoners and return them home."

"That's one of the things that makes us different, T.," Jack explained, "Most races that we've met have been fighting between themselves over massive areas of space or in service to the snakeheads. We fight on this planet we all have to survive alongside each other and simply killing everyone on the other side isn't a great idea. Besides POWs can be used as bargaining chips later on depends on which sides wins. If we simply killed them the Colonials if they won would make the people of Earth pay for it."

"Would that not also happen if the Colonials do not take prisoners?"

"Probably, I really wouldn't want to be in Adar's shoes if and when they decide to charge him for war crimes."

"From what we can understand there is no equivalent to the Geneva Convention in Colonial terms," Davis responded. "They have a form of human rights declaration, almost a cross between religious and political much like the rest of their civilisation. It's also possibly one of the reasons past the first contact disaster that has them coming after us right now."

Davis passed through the archway and directly next to a door. Typing in his IOA/HWS pass code he opened the massive metal door. Inside stood the main control room for the entire camp, fifteen to twenty guards and officers stood watching over the monitors. Colonial prisoners were bunking, playing games reading or studying information gathered about Earth freely given to them by the IOA.

"General O'Neill, Colonel Davis." A short heavyset man walked up to them and saluted. "Major Leonard Kelsey, Royal Canadian Armed Forces. I'm the Commandant of this camp."

"At ease Kelsey, where's their senior most officer?" O'Neill asked looking at the monitors.

"Already awaiting you, Sir. He's in one of the isolation rooms. He's been warned to watch himself in your presence Sir; you aren't the most popular person to the Colonial survivors. There's even a pool as to who and when your taken down Sir, a second one on whether the aliens in our midst will betray us, and of course how long before we bow down to their superior way of life."

"Sounds fun, maybe I'll enter. Never to all of them should do it," O'Neill smirked. "Have we got anything out of them that the debriefings didn't get?"

"A few things more about their 'gods', more about their society, families, technology. Some of their senior officers are putting together an escape committee, some are thinking about defecting, others are going on about how our hospitality is better than anything shipboard and want to stay just for the food."

"So pretty much a normal day."

"Strangely enough, yes, Sir."

"What about our people?"

"Two of the guards that managed to make it through the psyche test turned out to be slightly more unbalanced than we thought. Both are dead and six Colonials are in the hospital ward three more are dead," Major Kelsey responded." We've had two SG teams deployed to cover for us until a Za'tarc detector can be brought down to check everyone else over again."

"How the hell did they get through?" Davis asked.

"I don't know Sir, but we had to use lethal force to bring them down. Neither had families as far as their records showed but something sure as hell was going on. We've transferred the case over to the NID to look them over; orders from the JAG."

"Great, as if we didn't have enough of a problem," Daniel groaned. "Can we see this officer please?"

"Of course, right this way, gentlemen."

He led the way to a secured isolation room at the centre of the complex, a single door to either end were the only ways in or out, one of only four rooms in the camp that allowed egress between the security commander and the main prison itself. The room was all but impossible to escape or break through to the outside. A dozen safeguards were installed within the room to stop any attempted attack on the guards.

"There he is."

"Translators are on?"

"Yes, Sir I need to warn you, Commander Deacon is not as willing to listen as some of the others. He's been leading a group of the more religious fundies amongst the Colonial prisoners. I suggest you watch yourself with him. We've had to censure him a few times and separate him from the camp at large."

"Bad?"

"I've seen worse Sir, but this guy is convinced that he's in the right."

"Thank you, Major. We'll let you know when we're finished in there."

"As you say, Sir."

He saluted them and turned away back to his command centre.

"Let's get this over with."

O'Neill grimaced punching in the override code to open the door. The Colonial prisoner was dressed in his own uniform and shackled to the table that he was sitting at. Looking up he snarled slightly at the more than familiar men walking into the room. Composing himself, he leaned back in his chair.

"Commander James Deacon, I'm the senior surviving officer of the Colonial Fleet."

"Jack O'Neill, Commander of Earth's Homeworld defences."

"I'm well aware of who you are General. You and your people are pretty well known around the colonies for your actions."

"You're a religious man, Commander?"

"Oh yes General, I'm very much a religious man from my world. But even if I wasn't you are very well known for your attack on our people three years ago. I'll warn you now if any of your SG1 or the crew of your Prometheus were caught by our people every one of them will die without a trial as mass murderers and traitors to humanity."

"Colour me surprised. Just what did your President tell you about our little meeting?"

"I assume you brought me here for a reason, General," ignoring the question.

"Commander," Daniel spoke. "We're here to ask for your assistance."

"I'm listening."

"An attack force of ships is approaching this galaxy from outside. Within a few weeks they will reach the outer edges and then finally Earth itself," Daniel told him. "At that point if they aren't stopped every man, woman and child no matter their country, or planet origin will become nothing more than food in incubation for their kind. The Wraith are a kind of life-sucking vampire. They feed off humans by stealing their very life from the bodies. A twenty year old man can be reduced to a shrivelled hundred year old corpse within a few seconds."

"This has what to do with us exactly?" Deacon responded. Crossing his arms he leaned back against the chair he was secured to. "You have the ships and technology to take down an entire colonial armada, two ships should be cannon fodder to you."

"Believe it or not, there are races out there Commander that are far more powerful than anything we have on hand. The Wraith travel in hive ships, eleven kilometre-long monsters carrying a fleet in their own bays. After the attack by your forces, our defences are too badly damaged to take on those ships as they come in."

"I find that hard to believe, Doctor Jackson. Your Prometheus blew through our Battlestars like they were nothing. That kind of power should be able to take down anything that can threaten your planet."

"As I said there are races that are more advanced and a lot crueler than anything that you think we are capable of. The Wraith want to use Earth as a feeding ground and a launch point to feed on the other planets of this galaxy. There's more than just our thirteen worlds out here Commander and every one of them is in danger from the Wraith."

"When they get through with Earth they'll look through what's left of our race and our databases to find new food sources. Most other inhabited worlds are smaller in population than Earth or any of the colonies." Jack leaned over the chair back. "Once they are through with us what do you think will be the next on the menu, a few thousand people on a defenceless planet or a hundred billion in a single solar system?"

Deacon smirked. "They can try. But you wouldn't be here unless you thought that we could help you against these vampires. Your powerful ships are too small and too weakly armed to do any serious damage to your enemies so you want help from a bunch of 'savages' with big guns to fight your battles for you. Putting your trust in people that a few weeks ago would have gladly nuked your ships and subjugated your entire planet under our auspices? Something tells me that if the public learned that you were doing this that no one would be best pleased."

"You're right. They wouldn't but if they want to survive the Wraith they'll learn to deal with it," Jack snarled. He didn't like this guy. "The fact is we've got two weeks. In that time we could learn how to fire the guns, fly the ship and run it for at least a while. But we won't really be able to use them to fight, so that's where your people come in. We've begun repairs to two of the larger ships in your fleet. The remaining fuel that hasn't been screwed by the radiation is being loaded into those ships, so is the ammo. But we need your own people to repair them and run them, you know those things and you know their capabilities."

"And we should just up and help you?"

"Yes, you will help and you'll help for two reasons."

"And what might they be?"

"The first is anyone who volunteers and survives this will be repatriated to the Colonies aboard one of your ships. The second is that I won't simply hand over the co-ordinates of the Colonies to the Wraith in exchange for leaving Earth alone," O'Neill replied. "Hell, if they leave us alone, I'll throw in the rest of the POWs we have here as an appetiser."

"I can't say I'm surprised at all. Seems as if Adar might well be right about you, believing you have the right to do as you please to who you please, murdering tens of thousands of my people both here and back in the colonies. Firing against what you claim are your own rules of engagement, breaking our laws because you think you know better. Your people are nothing more than common thieves and murderers."

Tens of thousands? What were these people being fed?

"Hey," Jack yelled. "I don't know if you've noticed but you aren't exactly the good guys here, you're the ones that decided to come here and force yourselves on our people like a damn plague of locusts. You didn't take no for an answer so decided to try and bully us into submission. Didn't go too well for you did it?" He calmed down slightly. "Commander, each time that our people have met we've done our best to be courteous or simply to defend ourselves and each time because we've disagreed with your ways we've been attacked. To be honest I'm not sure who is really to blame here but I'm trying to save my world and by extension every human and alien in the galaxy."

"…In the process getting rid of some of the more difficult prisoners by letting your enemies use them for target practice." You know how to use our ships? Then use them and leave us out of this. You have the technology and you have the equipment use them and save your world on your own. We won't be party to helping people who would like nothing more to destroy OUR way of life."

'_Yep. They've been fed some serious crap.' _

"Do you think more of your career and your belief than your crew and those under your purview?" Teal'c rumbled from the back. "Would they all necessarily agree to your wish not to assist the people of this world because of your own short-sightedness once given the choice to return home? Or would they overrule your commands and fight to save not only themselves but their home worlds."

"They won't help you! No one will throw their lot in with heretics and dictators that allow their own people to die fighting their rightful brothers. And as the senior officer here, they will follow my orders to the letter."

"Well, we'll ask them." O'Neill pulled out a small radio. "Kelsey, did they get all that?"

"Yes Sir, the entire conversation was transmitted to throughout the camp. The entire population are starting to talk about it. Some really don't look happy about what's been said or they aren't happy about people agreeing that they should help us."

There was a moment's shock. We wasn't aware of any listening devices and to his embarrassment, he hadn't really thought that the conversation was being recorded, much less broadcasted. There was nothing around to indicat a presence of a microphone. "You expect me to believe that?" Deacon snorted.

"You believe what you want," O'Neill replied. "You'll go out there and have one hundred ten thousand survivors of the worst military action you've ever seen ask you why you didn't agree to let them go home by saving not only the Earth but the humans of more than ten thousand planets and the colonies themselves."

Deacon settled back into his chair and sighed. He hated these people with all his being. Their wholesale murder of the fleet and the unprovoked attack on the Colonials all those years ago had encouraged much of the Colonial population to push for an attack on the Tau'ri and their lapdogs. He couldn't trust them to keep their word in letting them go but he also couldn't risk that they were telling the truth, if they were two entire ships and their crews would return home complete with some badly needed Intel on their enemies.

The idea of aliens was again something new, even fantastic but if it were true...

If these Wraith truly existed then the Colonies would be a prime target for them or any other alien races that decided that the Colonies were a good source of food or slave labour. The Tau'ri were bad enough with their convictions, their perverse religions and ways of life. However, with the evidence the Tau'ri had been showing them about the non-human races out there, the Colonies would need to know it one way or the other.

"If we help you with this, I want amnesty for the crews that help you. The ships we crew to be allowed to return home unmolested and fully armed and operational and any crewmen lost in the battle to be replaced by any volunteers that couldn't be used on this mission. We'll also need to be re-equipped with those nuclear missiles that you used against our fleet and anything you have that will keep us alive."

"We can upgrade your ECM and give you a limited amount of our nukes, but any attempt to tamper with them or copy them in any way and the agreement will be null and void. Your people will be returned here and all further possible co-operation will be returned here and all further possible co-operation will be stopped. The lives of you and your crews will be forfeit." O'Neill glared at the prisoner of war. "Understand this Commander, you mess with us, you try to set us up for a fall or steal anything that we put aboard your ship and I will destroy those ships and everyone on them. You are still a prisoner and you are still beheld to the rules of conduct while a Prisoner, both yours and ours."

Deacon spat. "I am well aware of this 'General'. I have no intent on breaking the Colonial rules of Conduct when it comes to Prisoners of war. Your own however leave much to be desired, they are much too easy on your prisoners than they should be."

"That's another difference between us Commander." Jack loomed over the Colonial officer. "We treat our enemies as humans no matter their place of birth. We allow limited freedoms to move around and to act as they wish. Can you say that your people would ever have done the same?"

"If they aren't of the colonies and don't follow our laws then why should they be treated the same? As far as I and my brethren are concerned, none of you can truly call yourselves human let alone be treated as such. We will help you defeat these so called 'aliens' you're talking about but it won't be the last time we face each other O'Neill. Sooner or later we'll take you down and you will beg for our help and forgiveness."

"And on that day I'll nuke your home stars and take the entire Colonial race with me."

"I believe you would try. After all, conspiring to kill the rest if your race should be old hat to you."

"Oh, this again." Jack said. "Teal'c, you wanna try to explain?"

"Indeed. Commander Deacon, I believe you are aware of who I am. You believe me to be a traitor to the humans of Earth and of the Colonies. Is this correct?"

"I know you are a traitor to your kind."

"Then what you know Commander Deacon is quite wrong. I am not human, I am Jaffa."

"And that is?"

"A people that owe the Tau'ri their freedom."

"Enough that you will work with these Tau'ri to subjugate the peoples of Earth, holding them under your thumb..."

"The tales of the first people are legend among my race. Tales were told of a primitive world that the false gods of the Goa'uld discovered many millennia ago. Those taken from that world became slaves, hosts, and the most powerful of them became Jaffa the warriors dedicated to their gods through superstition and fear. I am Jaffa and I cast down my false god and fought for the freedoms of my people alongside those ancient humans," Teal'c rumbled. "There are no Tau'ri overlords Commander Deacon, the humans of Earth are the Tau'ri."

The Colonial officer stared at the dark skinned man and began clapping derisively. A sneer spread across his face.

"What do you think I am, an idiot?" he asked. "Aliens, false gods taking humans across the stars breeding them for what slavery, food?"

"No, Jaffa were engineered genetically to become the ideal incubation chambers for their young. In exchange we are able to survive any illness, survive injuries that would kill a human and live a protracted lifespan. I am over one hundred Earth years in age."

"Hold on, you're a genetically engineered human? What kind of person allows themselves to be changed from what is already the greatest of the gods' creations? I am disgusted to even look at you!"

"Well get used to it," O'Neill spoke up. "There are billions of Jaffa in the galaxy and they have so nicely volunteered to remove your carcasses and the rest of your people from Earth onto a planet we've chosen as a POW camp for the foreseeable future."

"You people are worse than the Cylons! Tell your Tau'ri overlords…"

"Oh Fucking enough already! Get this through your head, THERE ARE NO OVERLORDS!" Jack shouted. "The Tau'ri means the FIRST RACE, the people that existed on this planet first before any other human world. No Colonies, no Jaffa, no killer lizard people, no little Grey guys, simple humans on a single world!"

"Bullshit," the translator bleated. "The first world was Kobol. Our texts say it our history stretches back more than seven thousand years. The thirteen tribes spread out from Kobol to colonise the thirteen habitable worlds. The sooner you finally get over yourselves and admit that the easier it'll be for everyone."

"Christ why do we always have to get the religious psychos here?"

"You mean since Ra?" Daniel asked deadpanned. "Actually," he started. "We've got history reaching back about nine to ten thousand years and evolutionary evidence both on Earth and from other separate sources reaching back ten fifteen million. Our version of humanity isn't even the first…"

"Daniel."

"Sorry."

"I can't believe that you people think I'm nearly stupid enough to fall for this shit. We'll help you like I said but sooner or later you won't be able to keep the truth about who and what you are from the people of this world. When that happens whether I'm dead or alive I will be laughing at you, your people and anyone else that would betray humanity."

Pushing himself up from the table he spat at the floor in front of O'Neill. The sudden movement toward the three men triggered the hidden defences within the room. A single Zat discharged impacted the man's back sending him to the ground in immense pain before blacking out his diatribe dying on his lips.

"Idiot," O'Neill said. "Kelsey get this guy back to his people and start a count of Volunteers, we've got work to do."

_**Planet 'Helo'**_

_**Colonial Expansion Zone**_

_**Cyrannus Sector**_

"Touchdown in four, three, two, one…"

The Raptor shuddered as it hit the ground. All around the crashed vessel presumed to be Tau'ri in origin, dozens of armed and manned vessels appeared in flashes of light. Before the vessels had even cut their engines platoon after platoon of marines and special weapons squads emerged forming a perimeter around the derelict vessel.

Tripods supporting machine guns, rocket launchers, grenades and mortars scattered out across the perimeter. Half were pointing inwards towards the ship the rest outwards to ward off any possible attack that could come from the outside.

"I really don't like this. We're surrounded on all sides."

"They're trees Hoff, you think they'll end up crawling out of the ground and beating us to death with sticks?"

"Shut up, Mackenzie."

"Both of you shut up." A voice came from behind them. Colonel Grant leaned forward out of his Raptor. "You are elite operations act like it."

"Aye, Sir" They chimed.

Scowling at the lack of professionalism in his officers Grant turned back to his temporary command center, he had managed to get rid of those two troublemakers that had been fortunate enough to claim this planet as theirs. Sooner or later though he would have to get around to removing their claim permanently, the fact they had found the only habitable planet known outside of the thirteen colonies and not one of his own people had been bad luck on both parts.

"This is Phoenix Actual to second wave, LZ is secured send down the heavies." He said into the radio, "Primary drop of light mobile vehicles, fortifications second the rest can wait."

"This is Second Wave, we read you. Drop of first ships in thirty seconds."

"Understood out." Grant changed the frequency before grabbing the radio again, "All units this is Phoenix Actual we have incoming dropships, everyone to their assigned positions immediately."

Outside the Raptor he could see hundreds of troops clearing out from the outer edges of the perimeter congregating in groups covering the incoming ships from all angles, the first three drop ships already landing disgorging the soft topped personnel carriers and gun wagons. A dozen each spewing from the closely packed ranks within the Colonial vessels, almost as soon as they were cleared and manned the next wave began their run.

"Alright people, we are going in." He ordered, "Alpha squads take point, Beta squads hold the perimeter. Special weapons standby for orders, APCs begin recon of the area."

A chorus of affirmatives rippled throughout the massed armed force congregating around the Pyramid, the special weapons squads had already set up their heavy interlocking missile and machine gun positions. The massed groups of small armoured vehicles set up alongside their static brethren, closing the holes in the defences.

"Go Go."

The first six squads ran forward into the gaping hole in one side of the vessel, leapfrogging from one point to another until the first soldiers were flush against the hull. A half dozen flashbang and shrapnel grenades went in the hole first clearing out any possible enemy forces that may have seen them incoming. Three squads launched themselves through the hull and into the silent tomb like interior.

"Squad Delta, all clear. No signs of life, no discernable energy output."

"This is Phoenix Actual, continue into the main structure maintain communications at all times. You find something you report immediately. Out." The voice of Grant came across the radios.

"You heard him, set up repeater stations every hundred meters into the ship so we can keep contact we don't know what kind of interference we can expect from the construction of this ship." Captain Jenkins ordered, "Four me to a team and do not get separated if this is a Tau'ri ship we can expect a few problems."

Twenty four soldiers split up heading into the ship's main structure through the empty broken corridors, blackened metal and soot gave testament to how much the ship had suffered before its ignoble death as it impacted the planet's surface, shattered facades littered the corridors half burying bodies of dead crewmen their desiccated bodies lying in strange positions most evidently killed on impact.

"Human alright, dead maybe six years." One medic spoke up, "A few changes in the skeletal structure, some changes in the original density of the flesh…what the frak?"

"Corporal?"

"He's got a pouch Sir."

"A pouch?"

"Yes Sir, a pouch."

"Like a marsupial?"

"Yes Sir." The medic nodded, "it's natural whatever it is. Tied into the muscle and nervous systems, couple of other organs I don't recognise." He jumped as something fell out of the decomposing body, bringing his weapon up to his shoulder he pointed the barrel straight at the creature on the floor. "FRAK."

"Corporal?" Sgt Francis asked.

"There was some kind of creature in their Sir." He shuddered before poking it with his gun, "It's been dead a good few years by the looks of it, probably as long as the body has."

"A human carrying a snake in a pouch, what kind of people are these Tau'ri." One of the others whispered

"Frakked if I know." The Sgt replied, "Bag it and we'll take it back with us."

"Yes Sir." He grabbed the snake with the end of his combat knife and slipped it into a clear plastic bag.

"Sir we've got another one down here, He's not as badly decomposed as the rest." The last of their little group spoke up, "Oh you are not going to believe this sir."

"What now?"

"He's got a metallic pattern imbedded in his forehead." the Corporal said, scraping the flesh away from an intricate design. The desiccated flesh came away easily allowing for the metallic imprint to simply fall out into his hand, "Frak me, its Solid Gold."

"Your joking."

"No Sir, Solid Gold. It was imprinted in his head like a tattoo or something."

"Its not exactly the same but it's a lot like we saw when the Tau'ri sent their contact team." The Medic said. "I'm gonna guess that whoever this is, was probably in service in one way or another to them."

"Team Gamma to Phoenix Actual." The commander tapped his radio.

"This is Actual, go ahead Francis."

"We've found bodies Sir, about a half dozen so far including one with some kind of pattern welded into his forehead. We don't recognise the symbol but its in the same place as the Gold tattoo we say on one the Tau'ri."

"So we have confirmation that this is a Tau'ri ship." Grant replied, "Good, proceed with your inspection of the vessel. Once its secured I'll send in the containment teams, Phoenix Actual out."

"That guy likes the sound of his own voice." The medic said out loud, "Phoenix Actual? Ego bigger than a Battlestar that one"

"I hear that." Another trooper smirked, "Guy's got his head so far up his own arse he can see what he had for lunch."

"That's an image I could have done without." A third said tilting his head at the mummified bodies, "If there were any survivors off this ship why did they leave the bodies to rot?"

"Don't know, don't care." The second replied, "Lets get done and get gone, I've got plans tonight that don't include mummified aliens or massive… golden… uhh guys. Is this what I think it is."

Pointing his torch up a corridor the light bounced off of the walls sending a steady glow of golden light all around them, cracked friezes and shattered golden figurines lay scattered all around the deck. More bodies sat crushed under massive heavy statures or head from shrapnel damage where walls had broken under the pressure of the crash, the closest of the bodies had been cut almost in half by a massive chunk of metal.

Easing a half open door from its runners the soldiers slowly made their way into the devastated room, the Sgt crept up to the bisected crewman and pulled the metal piece from the skeletal remains bending the metal almost in half as they struggled to pull it out of the mummified remains. Running his torch across its length the piece of metal shone in the light the reflection sending yellow light across the room.

"Frak me." Francis whispered, "It's gold, solid gold."

"Your joking."

"No I'm not, its too soft to be any normal building material, but by the looks of it this entire rooms is covered in it. Who in their right minds builds inner corridors with solid Gold coverings, a single decent hit to the hull would shake the stuff loose and the shrapnel would kill everyone in the area."

"There's enough cubits in this lot to pay the entire Hepehstus crew for ten years. Gods know what else we'll find in here. What do we do now?"

"We call it in for a start. Mummified aliens and massive gold supplies; there's something here that doesn't add up, if this is a Tau'ri ship. And, I really don't want to be here if whoever it really belongs to decides to come and take it back from us."

"We have counted approximately two hundred and twenty soldiers and pilots deployed around the Ha'tak, a large number of armoured vehicles and projectile weaponry has been confirmed by the scouts." A voice whispered from the treeline. Well hidden within the bushes sans their usual armour a trio of Jaffa surveyed the human presence on the planet. "With ships that size they must also have a command ship in orbit.

"If the Tau'ri have arrived to capture our vessel that is more than likely, given their paucity in numbers and technology," The prime murmured. "We can not allow this to continue. Inform the rest of the Jaffa that we are to attack within the day. We must stop them from finding and desecrating the tomb of our god or removing the magic that allowed our ship to run. None are to be left alive."

"They have sent out small groups to patrol the area, several have been removed from the area by force. However two have been captured alive and are currently being held unconscious by the rearguard."

"We can not allow them to take our ship nor the bodies of our fallen. Take me to the Tau'ri patrol, I have questions for them."

The Great Encampment was hidden within the deep caves of the close by forests, forced to survive on what little they could salvage from the Ha'tak the Jaffa had begun constructing a new home until their gods came for them. The few hundred Jaffa and thousands of slaves that walked away from the crash had made their home in a massive above ground cave system. Hundreds of kilometres of tunnels and caves riddled the surrounding strata making them invisible to orbital scans.

The thick forests and foliage covered up several cave entrances allowing the Jaffa access to their quarters without being seen. A series of massive clearings now lay inside the depths of the forest allowing the newest denizens to hide if they were forced to. Their unwillingness to continue to hide had divided the survivors with half of the Jaffa building their great city with the help from the now freed slaves.

"Send out runners to all towns and the great city." The Prime said as he approached. "All Jaffa are to congregate at the Great Encampment within the next two days, the Tomb of the Gods is being desecrated and we will need every man to stop them. The Tau'ri will pay for their insolence and defiance."

"Yes, First Prime."

"You." He pointed at a guard. "Take me to the Tau'ri prisoners."

"At once."

Walking through the camouflaged entrances into the clearing the first prime ignored the dead Tau'ri thrown in a heap to one side. Approaching the cave entrances he stopped next to a number of tables. Equipment and clothing taken from the bodies of the Tau'ri soldiers were scattered across them, primitive radios, projectile weaponry so dangerous to their brothers no matter the god. Explosives that the Tau'ri called C4 or C5; whatever. Over to the side were the so-called 'grenades'.

Many of their brethren over the last decade had fallen to the Tau'ri's devious weapons and cowardly tactics, ambushes and long-ranged weapons allowing them to kill Jaffa without harm coming to them. Several times he had been injured by the Tau'ri in his service to his God before they had been forced down onto this world by the forces of a new arisen Apophis. The enemy projectiles had easily pierced his armour imbedding deeply into his torso and stomach.

He had survived his missions for his God and survived through the force of his own will and the gift of the Primta within his stomach, a true God that would do anything to help his favoured Jaffa to survive as it had always been. Other Jaffa had failed to survive the fire from the Tau'ri weapons. Those that were weak or did not have sufficient faith in their masters didn't deserve to survive.

Picking up a small pistol they had taken from the dead bodies he examined it carefully, the strange attachment to the underside of the weapon had a larger aperture than the barrel of the main weapons. Ammunition from those same weapons were laid carefully next to it. He had seen many weapons in use by the Tau'ri over the years but none had had such powerful projectiles in the smaller weapons.

"We killed the Tau'ri before they could get a shot off," One Jaffa spoke. "Those larger projectiles may be something more powerful, but we have not dared attempt to fire it at risk of alerting the Tau'ri to our presence here."

"A wise precaution," the first prime responded setting down the empty Tau'ri pistol. "We shall test their equipment and weapons once we have removed their stain from our soil. Their technology may be crude but it shall allow us to return to our people and report to them the passing of our God and await his resurrection as promised. Take me to the prisoner."

"Yes, First Prime."

One prisoner was chained to the wall of the outermost cave. Allowing him in any further could have led to problems with secrecy, and him being outside would have ended up with him dead at the hands of the younger Jaffa in their midst. He had been stripped down to a tunic and trousers much like that used underneath the Jaffa's own armour, they had not wanted to risk the trouble that the Tau'ri could get into with whatever they had on them.

His face was badly bruised and bloodied where he had been taken by force. A tear in his flesh flapped slightly in the wind bloody encrusted across the wound. He was incoherent as he lay delirious on the floor, mumbling his eyes focussed in and out as the first Prime walked towards the prisoner.

"Has anyone talked to him?"

"No, but when he was captured, he was speaking to his fellow Tau'ri in an older derivative of our own language, one not spoken for almost two thousand years."

"The humans of the Tau'ri do not speak the true language. They speak several forms of bastard languages." He watched as the prisoner looked up at his words. "You are not of the Tau'ri, are you?"

"You people disgust me, traitors and murderers all," the man snarled, "You and your Tau'ri masters will die. The great god Zeus will bring down his vengeance on all of you and you will die at the hands of his servants."

"Zeus lives?" one Jaffa asked. "Is that possible?"

"No. Zeus is dead, destroyed by his own kin," the Prime said. "What do you know of the Tau'ri?"

"As if you wouldn't know." The prisoner spat into the Jaffa's face blood and saliva splashing across his eyes. "If we had known you were here we would have nuked you from orbit and picked through the pieces."

Wiping the spittle from his face the First prime loomed over the tied human, with a pull he forced the soldier to his feet. "We are not of the Tau'ri humans. We are Jaffa and even though you carry weaponry of the Earth soldiers you are not one of them. Who are you and where are you from?" There was no answer, but he didn't expect any. 'Take him to one of the private areas, feed him, clean him, clothe him then bring him back to me."

"Yes First Prime."

"You and I have much to talk about human."

"I have nothing to say to you abominations."

"That may be but I have things I want to know and you _will_ tell me. One way or another."

_**Colonial Command Station**_

_**Picon Orbit**_

_**Colonial Quarantine Zone**_

Command Station Acapellico sat in high orbit above the ravaged plant of Picon. The once lush and verdant jungle world sat silently rotating in space its surface covered by the fallout of millions of tons of dust and debris. What little of the surface could be seen was covered in debris or massive brown patches as the massive jungles died and rotted, destroyed cities and spilt radiation covered half of the surface whilst raging fires swallowed up much of what remained.

Major Derek Samson could only stare through the massive viewports out to his home world. Hundreds of ships and stations scattered around the planetary orbit flashed lights or recognition signals to each other. Flares of light appeared from time to time driving off attempts to drop onto the planet's surface for one reason or another. Another fleet tender jumped in a section of space station strapped to its massive frame.

"That's the sixth station, fourteen more to go." Samson heard the voice of his commanding officer from behind him. Turning he saw her approaching from the other end of the commander platform. "Another three Battlestars have requested jump co-ordinates. Adar's decided enough is enough."

"I thought he might have. The cruisers are shooting down anything that tried to land or take off," Samson replied. "Frak Alicia, there's still more than two billion people down there and Adar's going to let them die."

"He doesn't have a choice."

"Commander Hardy ?" Another Commander wearing the patch of the station's engineering contingent walked up. "The station is completed, bio-contamination suites have been rigged up as has the Quarantine area once we bring up the last of the staff from the bunkers."

"Good, thank you. Terry."

"Ma'am." He nodded to them both leaving the command centre.

"Major, contact the bunkers and inform them that the last of the personnel are cleared for lift off. All ships are to hold their fire until those ships are docked. They know the rest of the drill."

"Aye Ma'am," Samson replied as he donned his headset, "Communications, put me through to all ground based repeater stations. This is Acapellico Base to all Command and defence bunkers, repeat to all Command and Defence Bunkers, immediate withdrawal of personnel is authorised. All ships are to report to Command Stations once in orbit. Message ends."

"Now we wait," Hardy sighed. "How many left?"

"More than two billion are still down there. Most will be dead within three months. The rest might survive somehow but without any way of getting offworld. We barely managed to get a tenth of the surviving population off before Adar ordered the Quarantine. He's ordered full scale jamming of the planet to stop distress calls from disrupting the other colonies."

"Stupid arrogant son of a bitch. Is there anything he won't do to keep his head on his shoulders?"

"Apparently not."

"I don't see people letting this go. We can't keep an armed quarantine up here permanently, not with the war and the second we remove it people will be running from this world to the other colonies," she replied. "Things are going to get a frak of a lot worse before they get any better. I just hope they've got the virus under control before we all end up ill."

"I don't…."

"Multiple FTL events across the board. We have a breach of the Quarantine zone!" shouted one of the DRADIS officers. Capital ship and escort-sized targets, radiological weapons are confirmed in theatre."

Flashes of light appeared in the skies above Picon as dozens of vessels dove into existence as their FTL drives discharged. The sudden appearance of so many ships caused the vessels and stations of the Colonial defences to step up their alerts. Battlestars, cruisers, missile ships, battlestations all locked onto the unknown ships. Missile silos opening and cannons swivelling to target, the quarantine defences of Picon prepared to face down the enemy.

"All ships ready main weapons," Hardy ordered. "Launch ready fighters and…"

"Hold Fire, Hold Fire!" A junior officer shouted across the radio feed. "Colonial IFF signals detected, it's the survivor fleet."

"Hold fire, all ships." Samson concurred, "Get me a confirmation on that Ensign."

"Confirmed Sir, Colonial IFF and Theatre Command Codes. Sixty seven ships lead by the Battlestar Hammer," the ensign responded. "All weapons are offline and they are requesting docking instructions… for the anchorage," he gasped.

"What?"

"They want to know where the Anchorage is."

"Get me a line to the Hammer," she ordered. "And kill that alarm."

"Aye, Sir."

"Hammer, actual this is Acapellico. Actual Come in."

"This is Hammer Actual. What the frak is going on here?"

"Hammer Actual this is Commander Alicia Hardy of the Picon Medical Quarantine fleet. All of your ships are ordered to proceed to the incoming co-ordinates." She pointed to one of the crew members who began transfers of information across to the fleet. "Keep station until you are cleared for approach, this area is now restricted as a Quarantine Zone. Any ships that approach the surface or any station in orbit without permission will be fired upon and destroyed. Is this Understood?"

"Where the hell is the anchorage, Commander."

"Hammer Actual, as I am ranking officer in this area of space I do not have to deign to inform you of what has happened yet. However if you are that desperate to know, most of the anchorage is currently lying in radioactive fragments on the surface of Picon. Now move your ships to a new orbit or I will begin to remove them by force."

"What? This is ridiculous…"

"Fire a single flak round across his bow, Major."

"Aye, Sir," Samson replied.

"Wait! Orders are understood Commander. I do however request permission for my ship to dock with the station. I have information that needs to get to the Admiralty."

"Negative, this station is a quarantine zone. You will be debriefed and informed as to your destination once the Admiralty are informed as top your arrival. Now please continue on to the co-ordinates provided. Any Ship attempting to land or break the blockade will be shot down without warning."

"Understood, Hammer out."

The screen blanked out as the transmission cut off. The DRADIS screens pinged as the mass of ships began moving into a higher orbit well away from either the planet or the debris cloud that made up the area that had once been Picon Anchorage. Smaller escort ships from the Quarantine fleet buzzed around the newly arrived refugee fleet pointing the vessels towards the safe harbours high above the planet out of range of the firepower gathered around the world.

"Idiot junior officers," Hardy growled. "Do they think this is some kind of joke?"

"I don't think that they knew, Alicia," Samson replied. "There are messages from all the ships going out asking about what's going on here. I don't think that any one has informed the fleet about the attack."

"It's been months since they hit Picon. What are the Admiralty playing at?"

"I don't know but I'm going to find out. Contact the Admiralty and the Presidential offices inform them that the survivor fleet has reappeared and the ships are awaiting orders in high orbit of Picon," Hardy ordered. "We'll keep them here for now but I want to know why the frak no one told them and what the hell they expect us to do now?"

"This is going to get ugly, Sir."

"Ugly doesn't nearly cover this Major, not even close."


	13. Chapter Twelve

Chapter 12

_**Chapter 12**_

_**Battlestar Dionysus**_

_**Captured Pacifica Class Battlestar**_

_**De facto Colonial Survivor Flagship **_

_**Sol System**_

Space above the lunar surface was buzzing.

Three of the least damaged Battlestars of the Colonial fleet had been pulled from the floating graveyard of ships close to Earth and dozens of recovered Raptors and short range shuttles had been pulled from the other crippled ship in the formation and transferred to the Colonial POWs. Hundreds of volunteers had streamed from the camp when the video of the meeting had transmitted. The camp's 'Commanders' had decided that Deacon had to know he didn't speak for all of their people and that those who wished to could volunteer for the mission.

The Raptors and shuttles had been transferred down en masse by pilots and teams taken up to the damaged ships as well as to the field of salvaged vehicles that had been put together for testing and reverse engineering. Each of the beetle-shaped ships had been stripped of weapons and FTL coils, foiling any attempt to escape.

Enough crews had volunteered to join the attack force so that a third Battlestar had been authorised to be refit for the defence of Earth. In the case that the Wraith made it through to the Solar System, the back up would serve the Ajax well if and when she went into Battle. The Dionysus herself would be deploying with the fleet alongside her Pacifica Class sister ship. The third of the trio was a more advanced Mercury class Battlestar the only intact member of her class left after the attack by the Pegasus.

Slowly the fuel tanks of the Battlestars had been refuelled by the SGC ships and their advanced transporters, food and water had been taken aboard from the crippled ships allowing for the crews to stay aboard during ship-prep. The entire fleet had been shut down and left to drift while the Earth's myriad governments had argued about what to do with them.

While most of the smaller and less powerful ships were already being broken apart both on Earth and at the alpha site, anything intact bigger than a heavy cruiser had been left in the newly developing ship's graveyard. Crews had been working throughout the days and nights since the request had come in. Damaged sections had been replaced with spares from the damaged ships. Neglected systems were stripped out and repaired while the Viper and Raptor Squadrons were brought aboard and stowed ready for combat. Fuel, spares, and necessary equipment, were plentiful for the three ships and their compliments, something some of the crews were unhappy with.

Two Daedalus class vessels stood guard over the fleet their weapons primed and locked. Raptors and Tel'tacs buzzed around towing weapons and FTL coils to the massive warships. None were ready for use and wouldn't be for several days. However by the time they were ready then the munitions would have been prepared and shipped up to the Battlestars and Daedalus class cruisers. Nuclear weapons were being stripped down and refitted as fast as possible. From the old minutemen missiles to the three highly illegal Czar Bombas that were in the Russian arsenal, everything was being prepared for the upcoming battle.

All the warships from both powers were being rearmed with the newest designs. With the refit of the damaged Earth ships completed, the others had been rapidly rearmed with a new set of main railguns, each four inch cannon being larger and faster firing that the original heavy railguns. Each had been equipped with a full load out of the latest version of the Lucifer Anti-ship rounds; the Naquada/Potassium rounds could and would cause immense damage to anything they struck.

The massive flak/bombardment cannons of the Battlestars were being retuned to fire faster and with more kinetic force than the normal rounds were capable of, the cannons themselves firing a modified Naquada/Potassium round that would hopefully break the armour of the Wraith hive ships. None of the ammunition or modified nuclear weapons had yet been delivered to the three Colonial ships and wouldn't be until it was time to shove off.

That time was still several days away.

With the lack of suitable materials or time to procure more of those massive rounds, it was decided that they would be dispatched to the ships last of all. For every Lucifer round that would be assigned to the Battlestars three armor piercing rounds from the colonial fleet would be placed in the magazines. Once the highly volatile Tau'ri weapons were used up, the Battlestars would be pulled out with hope that they had softened up the Wraith hives.

The Dionysus manoeuvred slowly away from the refitting warships, her massive frame turning to reorient her landing bays closer to the Colonial warship debris,. The Raptors and Teltac's began streaming towards the larger and more intact ships. Scores of the small vessels began to dock with the Battlestars and intact cruisers allowing teams of marines and engineers in the Raptors to get into the depths of the ruined warships.

High above them the Daedalus watch in silent vigil their scanners watching everything the Colonial crews were doing. The deal had been set but the IOA were expecting at least a few attempts to circumvent the agreement and to possible damage the ships enough that Earth would be in trouble if the Wraith managed to get through.

_**Battlestar New Bellerophon**_

_**Ares Class Escort Battlestar**_

"This is too frakked up," one engineer said. "We shouldn't be doing this."

"Doing what?"

"Going through these ships like this," he replied. "These are tombs now not warships."

"Crap! Kidson, we only left these things a few days ago. We need the equipment and supplies to keep the crew going. We go through and we take what we need."

"And then what? Stay up here and keep raiding the wrecks until there's nothing left?" replied Kidson.

"How the frak should I know? I'm not a mind reader."

"Yaggghhh." Kidson yelled as he slipped over yet another puddle of liquid. The desiccated flesh of a nearby corpse gave ample evidence of where the sticky puddle had come from. "Gods damn it."

"Looks like they were too busy to clear out the dead from our ships," Angle said shining his torch around. "There's probably more than a thousand dead bodies around here. The other ships might have more in them and considering the dead we're responsible for on their planet, I'm not surprised they've left these alone."

"We should never have picked this fight. I told you it was a bad idea."

"Bollocks, you went and said it would be over in a day or so and we'd all be heroes. We got our arses handed to us by a primitive world with six ships. Frak knows what would have happened if we'd waited another year. No survivors then that's to be sure."

"But we got one of them."

The ensuing snort echoed back and forth off of the walls of the grave-ship. "One," he snapped. "Just one and we lost over a hundred ships for that one and now we're stuck jammed into a POW camp until they decide what to do with us! Why don't they get it over with and blow us to hell?"

"You that desperate to die, Angle? At least as long as we're alive we can do something wait for rescue, or for some way the boss can get us out of this."

"Rescue?" Angle snorted. "No one's coming. They won't risk pissing off the Earth people again. Anything left will go back home and the war will be over with plain and simple. They can't hit us and we can't hit them. It's a stalemate."

A voice came from behind them "You two drop it; we're on a survey and retrieval here. Get to your assigned positions and radio in anything you find that's salvageable," Colonel Hanson spoke up. "That includes ANYTHING that we can use, no matter how old or deteriorated."

"Yes Sir."

"Sorry, Sir."

The ship's stores had been partially gutted to allow for food, water and medical supplies to be rationed to the Colonials. Many of the Colonials had ended up with serious allergic reactions to the standard Ration packs that the IOA forces had foisted upon the Colonials. More than a hundred had already succumbed to the allergies causing comatose states and death for those whom had the more severe reactions. Others had refused to eat the packs due to religious views, or the belief that the Tau'ri would simply use the food to kill them eschewing the logical arguments from their crewmates that the food was fine. Food stores on the Colonial fleet ships had been suitable for those that would not eat the Earth based food. Most of those supplies were being offloaded to storehouses built up around the POW camp for the use of the Colonials if and when needed.

Opening up another of the massive cargo bays within the central corridors of the dead Battlestar, the powered hydraulics had seized up due to lack of maintenance or power to the systems. The system's fuel had long been made useless by the radiation from the Tau'ri's incredibly powerful nuclear weapons. The half dozen emergency generators the Tau'ri had attached to the ship's power systems had powered the main airlocks, the bays, the atmospherics, gravity and even the ship's command and DRADIS systems.

The engineers among them were drooling at the pure power that those six locker sized generators were putting out, most finally understanding just how the Tau'ri could build ships so powerful compared to their sizes. If the Battlestars could pour that much power out compared to 'their' relative size, then the Colonial fleet would have been unstoppable against all comers. Large ships, faster charging FTL, longer jumps, even the prototype laser weapons that the R&D at Picon had been working on would have be feasible.

No-one had yet attempted to approach the sealed containers holding the reactors thanks to the efforts of the chiefs of the deck and the armed Tau'ri marines, while the armouries and the weapons depots of the ship were still intact. No one had yet been stupid enough to attack the Earth-born humans. In fact, almost anything in the ship that could be used as a weapon was a moot point. The second point was that a portable force field had been put in place around the clustered containers keeping any curious Colonials from doing something stupid.

The weapons would have been useless to them anyway considering the fact the Tau'ri could beam away their people or space those armed with weapons. That hadn't happened yet but a live 'demonstration' on a few pressurised containers had shown most of the crew that they would be foolish to make any attempt on the lives of the Tau'ri soldiers. The crews were hesitant anyway to do due to the possibility of their going home would be rescinded.

"Holy frak, boss. I think I've found the Commander's stash."

The open door of the cargo bay allowed light to spill in from outside until someone finally managed to hit the switch. The room lit up from its emergency lighting system. The main bulbs and power system had been fried by the direct EMP of the close range nukes that bombarded the Battlestar seconds before she was shut down totally by the blast wave.

Within the bay sat a large and now forced open locker recessed into the wall, inside it sat bottles of Ambrosia, Picon Brew beer, chocolates, assorted sweets, meats and other foods that were not part of the ship's authorised cargo nor technically allowed aboard in such quantities. It seemed that having friends in high places really was useful, especially considering these days the government were keeping much more of an eye on the ships of the fleet and especially the upper ranks.

"Ok, lock the door and throw away the key," Kidson said, "I'm staying right here."

"Idiot," Hanson replied, "This stuff and everything in it's been hit by radiation, the entire lot is useless."

"Even the beer?"

"Especially the beer."

"No frakking fair," Kidson moaned. "This stuff is worth a fortune."

"It's worth frak all. Now Kidson, drop the beacon. Let the Tau'ri figure out what to do with it."

"Yes Sir." He sighed. "Damn that would'a been a hell of a haul."

"Damn right," Angle said. "Come on this entire room's stuffed. We gotta check the next one along."

Kidson waved sadly goodbye to the room sniffing sadly before he was grabbed by Angle and yanked away from the hatch before it was slammed shut and sealed. A yellow and black tape was tied to the hatch and stuck across the door. All along the cargo bays each and every section were radioactive. Food, water, medical supplies even the supposedly secure emergency supplies were contaminated. Tens of thousands of tons of Colonial naval fare were ruined by close range detonations by the Tau'ri weapons that had not only annihilated the outer armour and penetrated into the ships' main hull but poisoned the men and women of the ship and the supplies that was needed to keep them alive.

"We'll, we're stuffed."

"Why?" asked Angle.

"Why not? That's almost five years worth of food and supplies up in smoke, not to mention the stuff we found in the admiral's locker. I really hope that no one was banking on us getting anything from this ship, cos if they are, won't they be in for a surprise?"

"True."

"So we've got no food, only a few med supplies, no water, but we've got ammo and guns which are useless to us. We've got a dead ship and probably radiation poisoning. Why the hell did we sign up for this?" Kidson mused aloud stabbing a syringe into his leg and allowing the Anti-Radiation meds to kick in.

"Because I don't know about you but I want to go home. We fight these Wraith things blow them up and go home sounds like a sweet deal to me." Angle shrugged, "Hell maybe we'll get the chance to be heroes this time around instead of the bad guys."

"You've been around the Tau'ri too much."

"Let me ask you something, have you been beaten?"

"What?"

"Have you been beaten?"

"No, what…"

"Starved?"

"No."

"Put in solitary?"

"No."

"In any way approached and forced to do anything you don't want?"

"No. You know this Frank."

"Yeah I do. Do you remember what we were told before we were sent on this mission, about the Tau'ri and what they would do with us if they got us?"

"Well, yeah."

"None of us have."

"They separated a few of us remember. Gods' know what happening to them."

"Could be they were contaminated with some illness, there was a guy off of the _Defender_ last week came down with some Earth illness with little red spots all over his body, called them Meetles or something like that. They took him to the med bay shot him full of some drugs and wrapped him up and sent him back a few days later. He was absolutely fine except for a few tiny scars on his body. Apparently most of the humans on this planet have had it and survived. If they wanted us sick or dead, why would they stop a virus before it got the chance to spread?" Angle replied.

"I dunno."

"Exactly."

"They didn't save those people off of the _Spear _though, did they?"

"Alan, they came down with something that the Tau'ri can't even claim to cure totally."

Four hundred men and women of the Cruiser _Spear _had come down almost en masse with something that had come from the indigenous life of Earth. Once quarantined from the main population they had died to a man. Now more and more illnesses were springing up, the doctors from both sides strived to save the thousands of ill and dying.

Over a thousand were already dead from wounds that had become infected or illnesses that hadn't been diagnosed in time. For some however the illnesses had been a mere nuisance. Several hundred of the personnel from the less advanced colonies seemed to have natural immunities to several of the Earth based viruses. The blood of those men and women had been used to fashion antivirals for those in danger of infection. Unfortunately there was not nearly enough blood to create the necessary cultures.

Even now harmless bacteria and viruses easily stopped by the normal Earth-born human's immune system were crippling the efforts of the Red Cross, the American CDC and the Colonial's own remaining medical staffs. Those worst off were being transferred into quarantined domes, sealed off from the outside world. Others were separated and moved to another camp to keep from infecting the rest of the populace.

"You're not making any sense man," Kidson exclaimed, "not to mention it's giving me a frakker of a headache.

"You're just not listening."

"I'm trying to."

"Look, the President and the Quorum declared that the Tau'ri were a threat to us and our way of life holding people prisoner that want to be freed, right?" Angle gestured. "But we saw their fleet that had six ships that's all. So how the hell are six ships supposed to be a threat against the Colonies and its defences?"

"You saw what they did to the fleet."

"Yeah, but we attacked and we just sat there and let them take the first shot. We expected them to turn tail and run or to break themselves on our weapons. They smacked us good and proper, but they stopped firing not long before the rest of the fleet escaped. Limited ammo, few missiles I guess. If we'd waited or had better anti-missile systems we'd have ground them into the dirt before landing our troops. Six ships verses more than two hundred? Screw that! I'd stay home."

"They might have more, look at those pyramid ships, or those two grey things that appeared."

"Have you looked at them? They aren't Tau'ri designs."

"So what are they, aliens?" the younger man scoffed. He sobered as he watched the expression on the face of his compatriot. "You have got to be joking."

"Those ships ain't the same as the Prometheus or those bigger bastards. Considering the size and firepower those things have wouldn't it be better to have built more of the smaller ships and arm all of 'em with energy cannons?"

"Well, yeah."

"The Tau'ri ships use bullets and missiles the others don't. You've seen the footage of Cain's attack those big grey ones blew a hole through the Pegasus. That's got to be where they got the big weapon on the Tau'ri ships from, the Gold ships. Hell, they look like they should be sitting in the middle of Caprica City as a casino or something. Frak knows who they belong to either. But it's not the Tau'ri." Angle smirked. "Makes me think maybe we're on the wrong side."

"Angle!"

"What?"

"That's treason."

"Didn't say I would moron, just said it makes me think about what else we've been told that might not be true. I've not seen anything that Adar claimed the Tau'ri were doing to the humans on the planet. Odds on, the Tau'ri ARE the people on the planet, not a ruling class."

"So you kept fed and clothed and all of a sudden they're your best buddies?"

"Ok, we're being kept in camp which ends on a beach, a nice ocean to swim in and food that I've not seen before tasting a frak load better than the crap we usually get aboard ship. Now they have decided that we can earn our freedom by protecting both their planet and ours. Those Wraiths are nasty buggers."

"If they exist."

"You're so full of cheer today, aren't you?"

"You're the one going on about joining the Tau'ri and how nice they are to everyone, so have you ever known anyone to do this much for people without expecting something back?" Kidson growled. "I think I wanna go back to the camp. At least there I don't feel like a traitor."

"Let me ask you something."

"What now?"

"If these Wraith do exist, and if they don't that's some really good costuming, and they manage to take Earth and its technologies then what's to stop them hitting to colonies afterwards? There's more than ten times the people in the colonies than on Earth and if we couldn't stop the Tau'ri ships how the hell are we gonna stop those bloody great hive things they say we're going up against?"

"The fleet…."

"The fleet would get massacred and you know it. You're not an idiot Alan. Think for yourself for a change; we do this we save thirteen worlds if not more and then we get to go home," Angle said. "And your kids get to see their dad again."

"I hope Susan's alright."

"She is man, she is."

"You two finished?" The voice came from behind them. Hanson was watching them with amused eyes. "Well then, get a move on. This wreck's useless and we've got three more ships to check before we quit for the day."

"Sorry, Sir."

"I'll tell ya one thing though, Alan."

"What?"

"If we survive that, we can survive anything."

_**USAF Daedalus**_

_**Daedalus Class Ship**_

_**High Earth Orbit**_

Floating only a few miles from the colonial ship graveyard a small pile of debris sat drifting silently guarded by a flight of F-302s. A search had found what little that still remained of the Apollo. The scraps had been found and removed from orbit by hand or by tow, by the ships of the fleet. The destruction of this ship had been so complete that barely a few tons of materials could be recovered after the battle. With reverence, the space fleet had gathered the debris which like the Colonial ships the material was simply drifting until something could be done with it. O'Neill had already vetoed the use of those parts to repair the damaged ships of the fleet.

The largest piece of surviving structure was a fifty meter long piece of the port hull that had survived the heat and impact of the Colonial destroyer. The edges simply bookmarked the single symbol in the very center of the debris. Each ship of the Tau'ri fleet was painted the same way, including the name and registration of each ship. But there was one last symbol added to each ship not just painted but edged physically into the side of each vessel.

That Stargate symbol was the central point of the largest of the debris. Its very existence meant that Jack O'Neill and Henry Hayes had refused for it to be reused. Apollo had been the first large scale loss for the nascent Earth space fleet. The SGC had requested some form or Memorial to be based outside of the old Air Force Space Command or possibly outside of the Air Force Academy near Colorado Springs. That piece would do nicely.

"Sir?"

"Yes, Major," Caldwell asked.

"The Raptors and Tel'tacs have finished the store provisioning. The last of the crews, with the exception of their command crews, are aboard."

"Understood, what about our own situation?"

"The Ajax is ready to fly. We're to be replaced on patrol tomorrow for a full refit and supply. A few of the SGC's new toys are to be added to our inventory. Apart from that Sir, nothing to report."

"Understood Major." Caldwell looked out of the bridge windows deep in thought, "Major, what's your take on this?"

"Sir?"

"Three months ago those bastards decided to try and nuke us into submission and almost broke through, now we're allowing them their ships back, access to our weapons all with the hope that O'Neill's deal with their commanders works out. The fact is our only hope lies with a scraped together fleet belonging to at least three different races and untested new weaponry. I really don't think O'Neill knows what we're looking at."

"They haven't really seen the Wraith up close sir and no one outside of this ship or Atlantis has."

"I know that Major, but we really could have done with the Korolev and the Apollo out here."

"Yes, Sir. But Sir for what its worth it gave the fleet the kick start it needed. The new rail gun rounds and the new ship construction will give us a hell of a fleet when it's completed, not to mention now that disclosure is done we can start building bigger ships."

"If we survive this."

"Yes, Sir."

"Ok thank you Major, that'll be all."

Caldwell knew more than most what it was like to be manipulated by an outside force. He had listened to the interrogation of both the Colonials and these 'Cylons' that claim to have been given a mission by God to destroy the Colonials. Both of them had been told that the other was their enemy or that the Earth and its people was the enemy. While it seemed a very familiar slant on things it was a very un-Goa'uld thing to do to use monotheism as the basis of a religion.

From what he could remember from the invasion of his mind and body by the Trust, he knew that the Colonials had a religious fervour that was much like that of the older Jaffa that still believed in their gods. Several of the interrogations had ended in violence from the more overtly religious types with the questions and answers about religions on both sides precipitating violence. Others had agreed to listen and study the religions of Earth.

What had surprised them the most however had been the unveiling of a hidden religion spread throughout the Colonial survivors. Even the idea of a Monotheistic religion had been made illegal within the colonies. Something had happened thousands of years ago on a planet named 'Kobol' that had led to the twelve colonies running from their home world and settling elsewhere. It was also this time that had led to a thirteenth group slipping off and ending up possibly heading towards Earth, a trip that seemed they had been unable complete.

Staring out of the window, Caldwell watched the small craft and space suited figures crawling over the Battlestars, clearing gun turrets, checking for hull breaches and readying the massive warships for combat. He continued to watch, wary of these allies. It would take only one of them to create enough of a problem to cripple a Battlestar leaving it useless right when they needed the ships the most.

They wouldn't be able to do anything about sabotage if the ships were damaged during the battle against the Wraith. He already knew some of the Colonial prisoners would be predisposed to betraying the Earth forces no matter parole given to them. saving Earth and also by extension the Colonies meant very little to them. Every attempt would be made but there was little to no chance of stopping all forms of sabotage when it came down to it. He hoped that the other crewmembers, if they found any problems, would either stop the sabotage or let them know but considering the state of affairs Caldwell wasn't too sure they would.

"Scan the Battlestars, check for any unauthorised personnel in closed sections or any possible evidence of tampering to the fuel tanks engines and main weapons."

"Aye Sir, going to invasive scan."

"Problem, Steven?"

Caldwell looked across to the newly entered General Ronson. Since being relieved of duty after the Prometheus' shakedown cruise which had almost cost Earth its only warship Ronson had been stuck with a desk job. However with the war in full swing the Air Force officer had been granted a reprieve. With all of the ships of the Earth based fleet damaged in some way by the attack, including the total loss of the Apollo, this single black mark on his record could no longer truly be upheld. As a result he had been pulled out of his office at the Pentagon and attached to the Office of Home world security directly on the orders of its then Commander. With Home world Security now expanding its umbrella, Ronson had been pushed into a higher position as Commander of the Earth Space Naval forces. This had put him directly below Lieutenant General O'Neill and the somewhat junior Colonel Davis, but had given him more responsibility over the deployment of the fleet and its resources.

"General, no problem as such but I have a bad feeling about allowing the Colonials almost unguarded aboard their own ships. Any one of them could make problems for us."

"We we're lucky. The camp down there is getting to be a problem already, There's too many of them in one place. Getting ten thousand of them to join up for this only helped us in the long run."

"It's not enough, Sir."

"Agreed, but we need those ships especially if you're right about these Wraith."

"I am Sir, the bastards are strong and unyielding enough to have taken down the Ancients and stop and meaningful technological progression within an entire Galaxy. Even with an intact fleet and those Asgard ships, I couldn't guarantee that we would survive this let alone take them down, and I sure as hell can't say those things will do any more than put a dent in their armour."

"Then you're really not going to be happy with this," Ronson said as he handed over the small PDA he was holding.

Scanning the data device Caldwell's face shifted from placid to quizzical to outright rage as the information began to scroll. The Battlestars were to be considered as part of the integrated task force at all times. The rules and regulations were to be followed to the letter when it came to their crews, except for line of succession through combat losses. The Colonial commanders would be considered the same as any Allied ship commander at all times.

"What is this?"

"I know Colonel, I know."

"Who put the IOA up to this?"

"No one. It's a direct order from HWS, O'Neill's office."

"You're joking."

"No, I'm afraid I'm not. The Colonials are to be treated as an allied force during combat at all times."

"That's ridiculous. They have no idea what we're going up against."

"I know, that's why I'm giving you command of the task force."

"Sir?"

"As the most experienced combat capable starship commander you're being given the job. The fact you also know more about the wrath ships than anyone else helps us. The Wraith doesn't know anything about the upgrades to our ships or the numbers we're sending out against them. But you know their ships, their weaknesses and how to hit them hard."

"I'm a ship's Captain Sir, not a task force commander."

"You are for now Steven. O'Neill's signed off on the paperwork and Pendergast's reaction was more along the lines of 'Thank God' than anything else."

"Good for him."

"I thought you'd say that. You're also not going to be happy with the other news though."

"Go On."

"You're aware that HWS has been re-designated as a new arm of the military, well the Prometheus, the Daedalus and the rest of the fleet are being transferred wholesale to the new arm. The 302s as well."

"WHAT?"

"Even the Brits and the Russians have agreed to a combined command structure under Home world Security. Their ships will also be transferred to the new force as soon as is feasible complete with all supplies and spares put aside for repairs. All the crews will be given the choice of returning to their original units or continuing with the fleet. The Heads of State put this into order about a week ago to bypass the headaches that the Joint Chiefs would bring up."

"American command over all allied space forces. I'm not sure they'll get away with that for long."

"The British and Russians agreed as we have the best position to set up the command and control needed, once the other stations and bases are in place thins will change again. For now though the allied space forces are under HWS control."

"The Joint chiefs won't stand for that General."

"It's war Steven. The power of the CinC is higher than the Joint Chiefs. But for the moment I don't blame the President for bypassing them after the stick in their asses that came from HWS being made a military service. But it seems that the Apollos will be left under the command of the Countries that run them, how they'll get around that later, I don't know."

"Politics again."

"The UNs shitting bricks about it as well, those countries not in the IOA are already claiming that we're pooling our resources to make sure no one else can control them. Even a number of IOA countries are having second thoughts about having an American controlled space fleet. However for the moment those countries with fleet capability have begun the build up and development of cross training for their own forces."

"I bet the President had a few words for them, not to mention General O'Neill."

"Yeah, Jack wasn't overly happy when he was tapped to take overall command of the planetary defences. That's the reason why he's put a few of the more politically undesirables in higher position," Ronson mused self-consciously. "He's even gone as far as to request a new SG Team set up for off world travel now we've come out as it were, right up to the point of authorising vehicles through the gate. I'm not sure if that's a good idea or not."

"Might be a good idea. Atlantis could do with that kind of transfer of firepower, if we can get a ZPM or a larger number of cargo ships to them." Caldwell kept watching the Colonials. "Those Battlestars could haul a hell of lot of supplies to Pegasus if we could tow them, more considering they have their own manufacturing systems."

Ronson merely looked out of the window as well. "I'll leave you to your over watch Colonel. Good luck."

"Yes Sir." Caldwell saluted his senior officer. "You too."

As the General walked away Caldwell went back to reading the scrolling data on the PDA. His orders were more than clear.

'_Dammit' _was the Colonel's only thought_._

_**Level Twenty Two**_

_**Science Section**_

_**Stargate Command**_

"HELL YES!"

The shout rang through the corridors of Stargate Command's lower levels, at almost 3:00 am, the slowly decommissioning base was deserted more so than was usual. A white blur ran from an enclosed lab and into the main corridors. Thundering up the stairs, the figure ran into the gate room narrowly missing Walter Harriman as the smaller man walked in with a cup of coffee.

"Hey, watch it, Felger."

"Chief, I've done it."

"Done what?"

"My Plasma Cannon, it works, it bloody works."

"Calm down Doctor, your plasma cannon works?"

"YES! The technical specs from the Jaffa and some of the more advanced Asgard stuff we've got down there combined to get it working. I've even tested it on a piece of Prometheus' hull plating."

"How…?"

"Never mind that. The cannon blew through it in a half dozen shots. It's at least on a par with the Ha'tak cannons we've got defending the Mountain. I need to tell General O'Neill."

"Felger, its 3:00am. You phone O'Neill and you'll be sent to the Antarctica outpost as a janitor. Wait until the morning and for God's sake calm down when you talk to him. You're like an over caffeinated lemming sometimes."

"I'm not that bad."

"The only person more agitated around here was Rodney McKay and at least he knew when to calm it down before someone hit him."

"That was once."

"You were in the infirmary for a week. I've never seen Siler pissed off at anything except the gate itself and you kept on pushing it."

"I apologised."

"You sent him a fruit basket."

"Like I said."

"Alright," he conceded. "Maybe it was a bit much but this is important. This thing is operationally stable and should be ready to put on the ships of the fleet within a few weeks. Those colonial bastards won't know what hit them."

"Look will they be ready before the fleet goes?"

"What? No."

"Then leave it and let everyone sleep. The generals are as stressed out as anyone and if you wake them up…. Well, just settle down and get some sleep yourself you look a mess."

"I'm fine."

"Sixty seven hours in the lab? Even your fiancée left more than thirty hours ago."

"She did?"

"Yes, she did."

"How…" he started. "Never mind."

Felger was more than aware of the senior non-com's precognisant ability to know everything that was needed to be known, something that had been attributed to his years as an NCO among the higher ranks and special operations folks. Rumours of a slight but capable Ancient gene had made the rounds soon after Atlantis and the ATA gene had been discovered. The fact that General Hammond had tried to requisition Walter during the reinforcement trip using the Prometheus only served of exacerbate the matter much to the Master Chief's chagrin.

"She's upstairs on her way down. Go home, Felger, or I'll kill your security clearance for three days to make you go home."

"You can't do that without the General's say so, or Sam's codes."

Walter simply lifted an eyebrow and turned away from the scientist, Felger started after the shorter man before once again realising just who he was speaking to. Dejected he walked away from the control room and back down the corridor, buried within his own thoughts the scientist barely noticed as he almost collided with the former woman of his dreams.

"Careful." She said

"Sam? I'm sorry I was somewhere else."

"You look it, you ok?"

"Yeah, oh I've got the Cannon working."

"That's great."

"Yeah it is, took me a few weeks but I finally managed to merge the three techs into a working version."

"Then why so depressed?"

"Walter just had a go at me, threatened me with revoking my security clearance until I got some rest not to mention that I was expecting more of a reaction to my finished cannon." Felger moaned, "What's worse is I think he called Chloe on me she's on her way down here right now, I'm guessing he called her and got her to come get me, that guy is so damned annoying and he's always right."

"Yeah he is, alright come on show me the cannon we've got a few minutes before she gets here maybe we can make it better."

Felger's lab sat mostly empty, since the fiasco of the Avenger test he had thrown out much of the older and more useless technology, plans that never bore fruit were thrown into the junk heap or salvaged for other experiments. Fortunately General O'Neill had allowed him to stay as the problems that had plagued both projects hadn't really been the other man's fault, the Plasma cannon was the fruits of his labour.

At the far end of the lab a long stretch of corridor had been turned into a firing range, a hundred meters away a large square of armour sat against a wall, from there it was obvious that the entire center section burnt through, the edges smooth and blackened from the immense heat of the weapon. The rock face behind the metal had been burnt through another dozen meters before stopping at a likewise smooth surface.

"I turned the power off as soon as I realised what had happened. The cannon was at maybe thirty percent power when I cut it. The armour was totally disintegrated within half a second, the rock face within a second. That's power on a par with Ha'tak class cannons. I haven't really got space or equipment down here to check full power, or effective range but I think it's going to be at least as powerful as anything we've seen the Jaffa use. What's more, we can build them from mostly home grown equipment and a little bit from off world."

"That's incredible." Carter looked at the armour and the hole. "Do you have any more plating here?"

"Yes it's on a trolley to the side it makes it easier to replace the plating, not that I've needed to till now. It's a piece of Prometheus hull that was cut off and replaced after you were caught in that nebula, the Trinium/Titanium alloy can take multiple hits from range from Jaffa ships, Wraith ships, pretty much anything we've come up against but this has been coated in a special ablative ceramic mixture like the bullet proof vests you use." She nodded her understanding. "Ok, now stand back! This is going to be dangerous."

Turning the cannon off axis slightly, Felger lined up the sensors onto a clean piece of plating and stood back. Handing Carter a pair of polarised goggles he taped in the firing sequence and gently pulled Carter away from the weapon. A half second later an energy pulse built up at the front of the cannon. Milliseconds later, the pulse launched impacting directly with the target blowing a hole straight through. Behind the hole was another hole in the wall.

"Dammit." Felger yanked off his goggles. "Shit, bollocks."

"What, that was fantastic! You've really done it."

"Yeah, but the cannon's main command transfer circuitry's melted. The cannon pulsed sent too much energy through it." He moaned. "The entire thing has to be replaced again! I really thought I'd had it then. And I was hoping not to do any more damage to the back wall. Siler's gonna be on my case about it anyway."

"It'll be fixed easily enough, and congratulations on the cannon, Jay. It's a work of art. Give yourself a few more weeks and you'll find it. I trust you on that."

"Thanks Sam."

"With that said I think it's time for you to go." She nodded to the door where a slightly perturbed and messy-looking Chloe stood glaring at them both. Felger's head drooped as he shut down the power feed to the Cannon. He could always talk to the Generals about the weapon tomorrow or the next day. For now, though, he had time to spend with his lady and some serious grovelling to do.

_**BBC Studios**_

_**London**_

_**England**_

_**September 19**__**th**__** 2006**_

"Good Evening and welcome to this special edition of News night. Tonight we focus on the Stargate and the International Oversight Committee. Are they responsible for the devastation caused by the attack by the Kobollian Colonials, or were they simply at the wrong place at the wrong time? I'm Kirsty Wark."

"For the last few months the public have been demanding more and more information about the Stargate program and its effects on the world. Here to answer at least some of the questions, we welcome Doctor Elizabeth Connelly of the Royal Historical Society and special advisor to the Prime Minister, and Doctor Daniel Jackson of Stargate Command, former member of SG1 and head of the IOA's Archaeology section," the blonde woman said. "Doctors, welcome to News night."

"Thank you."

"Nice to be here."

"First of all Doctor Jackson, according to the literature released by the American Department of Home world Security, you have been credited as the man responsible for unlocking the secret of Stargate that allowed the people of Earth to begin exploration of alien worlds. By unlocking the secrets of the gate, you proved your theories about the existence of aliens and their effect on the primitive cultures of this planet thousands of years ago to the world. Now, as both a civilian and as a member of what was known as the most successful and infamous explorers in the known Galaxy, what is your view of the current political climate post disclosure?

"When I was originally approached by the United States Government, they wanted my services as a translator and archaeologist. The purpose of the Stargate or 'gate of heaven' as it was originally called, was an unknown factor. The general belief was that it was some kind of weapon. Later it was discovered to be some kind of instantaneous transportation device. The chief concern was where the Stargate lead to. The Stargate, of course led to other worlds, including one in which I spent a year as a native. However during that time, I had no idea about the Goa'uld or their empire. What we did know, or rather believed at the time was that a parasitical life form supposedly the last of it's kind ruled a vast number of worlds, including Earth at one time. The being called Ra, the Goa'uld who commanded their empire also claimed to be the father, or progenitor of our civilization. The state of the galaxy at large was unknown to us. This was both a blessing and a curse. We didn't know the truth of what was out there and the death of the being Ra allowed others to gain power and end up attacking his holdings one of which seemed to be Earth. Because of our civilization and our killing of Ra, these Goa'uld considered Earth a threat, one to be either subjugated or destroyed. We had to find ways to defend ourselves against a technologically superior, extremely aggressive species that had been in control of the majority of the galaxy for thousands of years.

This need to protect Earth and its people for either eternal slavery or destruction is the basis of what became Stargate Command. Our mandate included the defence of Earth and our people, and exploration of galaxy to find allies and technology to defend ourselves. We were beginners and as with all forms of exploration there are those that are in some way hostile to our way of life."

"This would include the Goa'uld and the Aschen."

"Yes, those two that are the biggest threat to the existence of Earth and its people.

The destruction of most of the Goa'uld's infrastructure and the rebellion of their Jaffa has led to the deaths of a large number of system lords, or lesser Goa'uld. Large numbers of their fleets and armies have been destroyed, unfortunately some in combat with other Jaffa or with other forces bent on forcing their viewpoint on others. This doesn't mean however that the Goa'uld aren't still a threat to security both here and elsewhere. We have to remember that even a small number of Goa'uld managed to hold sway over this galaxy for over ten thousand years. The problem with the Aschen is much the same, they are large in number but less advanced in weapons and defences than the other races we have been forced to fight over the years."

"So the majority of the races that have been a threat to Earth are either reduced in threat, or too far away?"

"Most of them aren't an immediate threat right now. There are others that pose a threat if and when they do decide to make a visit to Earth."

"You refer to the Colonials."

"To an extent yes," said Doctor Connelly, jumping into the conversation. "The Cyrannus colonies are the product of several thousand years of insulation against the outside universe. Their own history and religion are based on the old Earth religions of the Olympian gods. However during the two major contacts between Earth and the Kobollians, we have found mentions of four older religions including Roman, Greek, Egyptian and Asgardian. This last doesn't quite fit with the basis of their civilisation because the Asgard are rarely mentioned in history alongside the Egyptian gods. Considering the fact that the Goa'uld's use of those gods identity to enslave the humans of their worlds, it would seem to preclude any mention of the Asgard."

"So using the identity of those gods the Kobollians were enslaved?" Kirsty asked.

"We believe so. However something happened during their history that allowed them to overthrow their so-called gods and flee to the system that we now know as the twelve colonies."

"But if that's so, why do they still worship those gods that were little more than slave owners?"

"We don't know," Daniel admitted, "but we do have precedence here on Earth of several ancient religions still being actively practiced. The problems in Greece are a good example of this. We have historical precedence both on Earth and through our contacts on other worlds about the worship of these gods even after centuries or millennia of their disappearance. Even now there are hundreds of worlds that refuse to believe that the Goa'uld are defeated or that they are not nor have even been true gods. Only just recently have most of the Jaffa and allied worlds refuse to bow down any longer to the aliens that had decided to enslave them for so long."

"So their adherence to their religion is responsible for their reactions to Earth and its population?"

"Yes, or rather that's the excuse they are using. During first contact we discovered that any form of monotheistic or one god worship was illegal throughout the entire Colonial way of life. Their discovery that Earth was based more or less on the view of a single god was seen as an affront to them. Apologising for any insult we had given them and not realizing the magnitude of our developing situation, the conversation moved onto the history as both sides saw it and our immediate history as regards space travel. As established in our first contact protocols, we informed them of the existence of Earth and the information that we have gathered about the legend of the Tau'ri. The Colonials knew of Earth but in fact claimed it to be the thirteenth Kobollian world and that we as a whole, belonged as part of the Twelve Colonies."

"Which, of course, you informed them that our own history disputed that?"

"Not precisely, not at first. In order to make a convincing argument we had to know a little more about them. We asked them about their history and how they believed Earth was a lost colony of Kobol. By the way, their own history in no way fits with that of our own. The history and knowledge of Kobol stretched back around ten thousand years while our own is closer to fifty thousand, however the mass kidnapping and use of human slaves by the Goa'uld does stretch back ten thousand years. That means that they are quite possibly tribes of humanity that went missing from all across this planet. The fact that skin colours, accents even changes within their languages all seem to stem from across the earth's surface."

"Their response to this information was not friendly, I gather?" assumed Kirsty.

"Not as such. They asked for more details, politely I may say, and we did our best to inform them of our beliefs without offending their own. All I can say at this moment is that it didn't work and we decided to leave quickly from the surface of Caprica, using our own 302's. Not long afterwards the Colonial warships fired on us, ordering that we remain in orbit and submit to further interrogation."

"This was aboard the Prometheus?"

"Yes, it was the Prometheus' first commissioned voyage. She was in bad shape after an accident with the ship's main reactor causing us to fall out of hyperspace every few dozen light years into the trip. One of those was on the outskirts of Colonial space. Once we knew we were unwelcome we left quickly but not without having to inflict casualties on the other side. The size of our ship was much smaller than their average vessel and they fired on us. Our shields protected us and we returned fire to break the blockade. If the hyperdrive had lasted a few seconds without overheating we would have missed the Cyrannus sector completely."

"In your opinion, was it that attack on the Colonials that had them beginning their crusade against Earth and the hundreds of millions of casualties, or would the attack have come after any first contact with the colonies?"

"That I can't really answer for certain, but I believe that once first contact had been made this war was inevitable. The attack on the Prometheus, even with our accidental intrusion in their space was designed to stop us and gather detailed military and political information on Earth. Again I stress that believe we are part of their colonies and as such we, Earth that is, follows under the jurisdiction and providence of the government of the Twelve Colonies. Their attack was unprovoked and we were very lucky to escape before they could overwhelm us," continued Daniel. "The problem was back then that the entire ship was a prototype design with mostly reverse engineered equipment that we weren't completely sure of how to use. Later, the Asgard upgraded the ship and helped us to understand the principled of space travel beyond our own solar system. The consider this was an act of insurrection and they're trying to bring us back into the fold by whatever means necessary, which in this case means by military force."

"Doctor Connolly," The host switched guests. "The Royal Society has pushed for the dissemination of information and technology from the Stargate Project and its associated projects. Members of the IOA including the British Government have refused to do so citing the need for security and the fact most technology can be used for more hostile purposes other that what it was designed for."

"Yes, the problem is a very real one when it comes to technology," Connolly began. "As a whole Earth is still relatively a backward world when compared to the more advanced races out there. From the few records that have been released by the SGC we have seen that some such as the Tollan, the Nox, the Alterans, the Asgard, and numerous others the have technology that could, if used against either ourselves or others, wipe out all life on this planet. However there are also technologies that exist that would improve the way of life throughout the world. Most are currently even in use rebuilding the destroyed areas of the Earth's surface. Some technologies are not ours to disperse however and as much as we wish to, breaking treaties and covenants with an allied race at the juncture is foolish as best and suicidal at worst."

"Information gathered by the SGC has been disseminated when and if feasible," she continued. "First contact details with allies have been made freely available. The actions of the SGC, when not classified, have also been that of a group so badly outnumbered that they have had to do everything possibly just to survive. However the fact is that some information has remained classified including the first contact with the Colonies and the aftermath, knowledge that the world needs to know."

"Doctor Jackson?"

"I must stress that while these other races mentioned are more advanced than us, in some cases, far more advanced, they are not and have not been a threat to us. Many have helped us and are considered to be strong and supportive allies. While we have had to keep some of the information gathered to ourselves due to the danger that could come from them, much of the rest is being disseminated allowing people to know what has happened. Other information has been given out to allow for an increase in the standard of living as well as the ability to expand our infrastructure. The losses taken after the Colonial attack means that those hurt by the nuclear blasts will be able to rebuild and accept aid from other nations already expanding due to the nature of the technology that have been granted us both through exploration and from our off world allies."

"Several countries have pointed out that this kind of assistance from off world is in fact harming the growth of a number of nations on this planet. With the influx of cold fusion and naquada reactors worldwide nuclear and oil based products will start suffer. Already the OPAC countries are threatening the IOA and allies with an embargo on raw petrol and any other petroleum based products."

"For the moment petroleum is still a necessary resource, most of the vehicles and equipment used across the world are still dependent on those resources and will be for quite some time to come. The complaints about reducing our demand bare no actual reality on the way that the IOA currently runs its economy and its forces. Yes, we'll be reducing the use of fossil fuels throughout the world as newer technologies become available, but it will be all but impossible to simply turn around and give that kind of technology to everyone and to replace the most stable economic base in the world today."

"But with off-world resources, wouldn't the fossil fuels be easily brought in and refined by the IOA countries."

"We could, the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom among others all have vast experience in drilling for oil and refining them. The cost however of transferring people off world setting up pumps and refineries then bringing it back is prohibitive compared to drilling for oil and updating our technologies and simply using the Earth's own resources. Attempts to drive up the cost of oil will probably continue as it has since the attack. If this price gouging continues, then measures will be taken to bring fuel in from off-world. But the talks between the OPAC members and the IOA has allowed for the drop in price back to the level they were six months before the attack in order to allow for the continuing improvement on the world's economy. The threats of embargos by some are reactionary at best." Daniel sat back.

Connolly started speaking. "The risk of harming the growth of underdeveloped nations on Earth is unlikely with the current climate. With the entire planet on a war footing, jobs across the board will be springing up. Already the IOA countries are finding their unemployment percentages down immensely as we begin to settle in for mass production of supplies and equipment for the oncoming war against the Colonies of Kobol. More than ten million people have been earmarked for expanding our off-world colonies, and as the expansion both on world and off-world progresses every person will be able to learn some form of employment if and when they choose. But we don't have a choice. The colonies have people and the resources of twelve worlds. We have one."

"What about those who are unable to work?" asked Kirsty Wark, "There are those that are disabled or otherwise incapacitated?"

"Some can be cared for, and perhaps in time cured of some of their maladies. Others while unable to do the more physical jobs that this war will entail will be able to work on and off-world in periphery jobs such as administration or storekeeping. Our technologies are advanced but we can't cure everyone and we can't promise a full and fulfilling life for every human as that just isn't possible. Some will want to fight on against our enemies, but can't due to illness. Others will undoubtedly want to simply sit back and let the world take care of them. We can't tell people what to do or when it's simply human nature to do as you believe you should…."

"Doctor with regards to offworld information as has been requested by the Royal Society amongst others , would it be possible to contact the Asgard, possibly to interview one of them about their people and their attachment to the human race, as well as a colonial to get their perspectives on this war?" 

"You'll have to ask Home world security to see if it's possible." Daniel responded, "That's a little above my pay grade I'm afraid."

_**Launch Stations**_

_**Stargate Command**_

_**Cheyenne Mountain.**_

"You think this is going to work?" Siler asked.

"Of course it'll work. Look, the ships in orbit don't have the space or the time to launch these things themselves," Walter explained. "We've been over this three times. We might as well use the rockets we've got to put them in orbit, might cost more but we can get them operational."

"I have a bad feeling about it."

"Look, the Asgard wouldn't have built them if they didn't agree. We can't aim them at Earth. It won't attack IFF flagged ships and more than anything it'll stop any more nukes hitting the planet." Then the Master Chief mumbled, "I hope."

"Makes me feel better," Siler retorted.

"If it doesn't work blame Colonel Carter, she designed it."

"I'm surprised the Asgard allowed the thing to be built."

"Sly it's a defensive only system. The Asgard won't give us the big guns but I'd like to see anyone get past those things when they're deployed," Walter replied. "Hell, the Goa'uld were scared of it even after Anubis decided to upgrade his ships. Now we're just using it for defence instead of attack."

"I'm staying well away from them this time."

"She didn't mean it you know. The plasma overload could have hit anyone," Walter told him. "Think of it this way when the skin peels off you'll have a great tan."

"I work twenty-eight levels under a mountain with one day off every three weeks if I'm lucky. How the hell am I going to explain a tan?"

"Gravy?"

"I'm not even going to ask what you mean by that," Siler grumbled picking at some loosened skin before dropping it to the floor. "Itching's stopped. "

"Can you not do that here please?"

"Sorry."

"We're ready, Chief." The voice came from behind them. Siler and Walter jumped at General Landry's approach. The portly general stared at the flaking skin across Siler's face and shrugged. "What's the status of the Launch?"

"Last confirmations are coming through now, Sir," Walter replied. "All stations this is Black Rook, report final status checks."

"_Woomera is go."_

"_Houston is go."_

"_Alcantra ready."_

"_Baikonur is online."_

"_Aberporth, ready for launch."_

"_Vandenburg, rockets are in place awaiting orders."_

Walter turned in his seat typing in a few more commands into the main situation display attached to the control systems. A few small areas that were still red or amber finally flipped to a green signifying their reports had been confirmed.

"All sites are ready to go."

"Proceed Chief. Let's make this a good one."

"Aye, Sir," Harriman responded. "All sites this is Black Rook, begin launch by sections."

Fifty sites worldwide began launching one by one. Rockets tipped with highly advanced technology streamed into the sky. Ten, twenty, fifty, and finally one hundred arced into space. As the solid fuel booster sections fell away, the ships in orbit simply annihilated them in bursts of energy. Their payloads broke from their armoured cocoons and were boosted into high orbit above the ground.

Two large satellites burst from their established orbits, thrusters firing placing them into their assigned defensive positions across the entire planet's surface. The Asgard and Tau'ri fusion of technology was evident as they dropped into place. From below a second series of launches took place another two hundred missiles powering into orbit and emptying out into space, within minutes an entire grid was in place surrounding the entire planet.

"All launches achieved," Walter smiled. "Houdini system is in place and awaiting activation."

"Contact White Rook," Landry ordered.

"Aye, Sir." Harriman typed in the commands to link up to _White Rook. _Landry just looked at Siler as the other man took the hint and dived out of the door back to work on the gate. "White Rook on the line, General."

"White Rook this is Black Rook, requesting clearance and second code key."

"_This is White Rook," _a British accented voice came back. _"We're ready General Landry."_

"Begin activation process," Landry ordered. "Code is Alpha Tango Sierra Golf Charlie One One Seven."

"Begin arming Process," the British voice replied. _"Code is Omega Omega, Alpha Foxtrot Charlie Three Zero Three."_

"Satellites are armed and operational, Sir," replied two voices from either end, Walter ducked slightly in embarrassment.

The voice on the other end continued. _"Requesting final commitment code from Asgard liaison."_

"_I have been listening,"_ a soft voice said over the radio. _"All communications are routinely watched and coded by the Asgard systems in your bases. Final code is Alpha Alpha One Zero One Omega. Full activation is now online."_

"Thank you, Hermiod."

"_As you say,"_ The communication dropped off.

"Friendly guy." Landry murmured.

"_General we're ready to begin final tests,"_ White Rook said.

"Proceed."

High above the planet the Odyssey, the Ajax and Daedalus accelerated out of orbit and towards the area of the Colonial graveyard. All three jumped into hyperspace only to appear seconds later high above the planet weapons systems armed and active. As one the three warships launched a massive barrage or fire, their modified railguns and Asgard pulse cannons raining down on the newly formed network.

Less than a second later a massive salvo of missiles entered space, the weapons systems of the three Tau'ri ships opening up for a magnum launch. Hundreds of dummy warheads streamed from all across orbit towards the planet's surface. The unarmed and non re-enforced the missiles wouldn't make it through the atmosphere in case something went wrong. From the hangers of all three ships 302s began to launch followed seconds later by their own dummy anti-aircraft and anti ship missiles erupting from their hard points. That ordinance joined their larger and heavier brothers heading towards Earth.

Shields flickered as the railgun fire impacted on the satellites, each sparking as it was destroyed by the energy barrier. Pulse cannon shots ricocheted away or splashed against the shields disappearing into nothing. All across the facing side of the planet satellites reoriented and locked on and within seconds bright beams emitted from their centre structures. The satellites swept across the incoming horde of missiles. As each speeding weapon was hit it simply disappeared from view.

Railgun and Asgard cannon fire was swept up by the beams disappearing from the sky. Again and again lights emitted from the network taking down the entire salvo piecemeal until within seconds every weapon was gone the space around the planet now completely empty of targets. Not one weapon had made it even close to the edge of the planet's atmosphere, none had detonated and none had hit the OSATS.

"All targets have been taken down, Sir," Walter confirmed.

"Status."

"None of the test fires made it past the second tier of the network. All sections read green but the storage tanks are full on a few of the satellites," Walter said. "Targets are being reconstituted on the ground at Nellis, Northolt and Woomera armouries."

"_I think that counts as a successful test gentlemen,"_ White Rook responded. _"Primary command has been established this end General. We're ready to take it off your hands."_

"Secondary command will be with the Crucible, White Rook." Landry said. "Transfer will begin in a few hours, Good Luck."

"_Thank you General, good luck to us all,"_ the voice replied. _"We'll give the Wraith a damn good kicking when they come this way. White Rook out."_

"Houdini System is powering down and going into hibernation General," Harriman smiled. "The grid is fully operational and under RAF control."

"Typically British."

"Yes, Sir."

"Let's hope it works. It's our best line of defence until we can get some space stations and weapons platforms up there," Landry said. "Send a message to the Asgard, thank them for their help and that we appreciate the speed with which they were able to refit the rockets."

"Message sent Sir, Asgard acknowledge the successful test." Walter smirked. "Apparently Hermiod is perturbed that the network functions as intended. He was willing to bet money that we were wasting resources."

"Thought he might." Landry looked at the readouts. "Alright Chief, you've been here long enough, take three days and go home. We'll need you up to snuff when the Wraith arrive."

"Sir?"

"I heard about your little encounter with Dr Felgar. You haven't left the mountain in more than two months. You're more exhausted than I've ever seen you," Landry replied. "I've already made Colonel Carter go home; You're next on the list."

"I'm fine Sir, nothing a few hours sleep won't fix."

"Don't make me make it an order Walter, because I will."

"What about you, Sir?"

"I was on leave until I was recalled for the Wraith attack. I'm more than rested. Now get."

"Aye, Sir."

Landry watched as his Senior NCO gave up all pretence at being fine. The younger man was completely exhausted but willing to work on even through the incoming attack on Earth. Shaking his head the General walked back up to the briefing room and into his office. Even with the new system in place there was still a hell of a lot of work to do.

He didn't envy Jack his position, not at all.

_**Medical Centre**_

_**Underground Command Bunker**_

_**Colonial Intelligence Defence Command **_

_**Scorpia.**_

"This is getting ridiculous," the Doctor said to herself. The pilot in her care was as bad off as he had been when he had been brought in the last time. She couldn't keep patching up the man just to see all her work undone by Corman's idiotic attempts at torturing the information he wanted out of the Tau'ri crewman.

Broken bones and cuts were difficult enough to repair but the internal injuries and brain damage that would accumulate through the man's body would simply kill him. He was being singled out for the abuse because he was the only Tau'ri they had captured or taken in any way since the war began those few months ago. Picon had taken the brunt of the attack from the Tau'ri's warship only days after the invasion of Earth was supposed to have gone ahead. The pilot had claimed it had failed and the response was proportional to the devastation of his homeworld by the Colonial Fleet.

His fevered screams and murmurings had been getting to her staff, enough that only she and one other of the remaining medical personnel were willing to operate on the man enough to save his life. Little of anything he said was understandable to them without a translator, the one that had been assigned in case the pilot said anything while unconscious. He had left moments after Fitzgerald had been returned to the Medical Centre. The state of the prisoner had caused the guard to throw up before virtually collapsing.

None of the external injuries were permanent that much she could tell with a cursory examination of the figure. Any scarring would be minor and easily hidden but that could easily change if they were allowed to continue mutilating the Tau'ri pilot. Much as she wished she could, Miriam could not gather up the hatred others had for the man. He had been a soldier doing his job as much as any of the people in the fleet that had attacked Earth. He had just been unfortunate enough to have been shot down as he was no doubt trying to escape from the Vipers of Picon's security detachments.

"Doctor?" her nurse said. "The tests are in."

"Anything?"

"He has more than two dozen strains of virus in his system that don't exist in our databases. Some should have killed him but what we can gather. The rest while nasty are not as deadly as the others. I don't know how he survived all these illnesses intact and alive."

"So, he is the carrier."

"I believe so, the same viral strains are in his blood but there are at least three others just like it. A slight mutation or variant perhaps."

"So Earth has at least four versions of the Plague."

"How the hell have they survived on one world with so many illnesses?"

"Different ecosystem, different medical technology. We saw it a hell of a lot during the Unifications wars, POWs brought to the homeworlds and dead within a week. Caprica's simple viral strains would have wiped out Leonis if we hadn't been able to inoculate them over the course of a few years. Same with some of the other colonies. Sagittaron is worst off for the viruses; damn place is almost a virus free world."

"Hmm, so this virus, it's just what, a cold or something?"

"It's nastier than a simple cold but it's not far off and if I'm right it gets worse." Miriam leaned forward looking at the screen. "Four versions of the same virus mean it mutates and quickly. If so, then no matter what cure or vaccine we manage to produce it'll mutate and infect the populace again and again."

"So we can't stop it?"

"I don't know. We can create vaccines of at least these four strains and keep an eye out for new versions but there's no way to stop the virus from mutating. It's the perfect weapon to use against us, shame they didn't think of that first."

"Doctor?"

"Never mind. What else have we got?"

"The damage has been compounded. The internal injuries we repaired have been ripped open again. We've got at least a slow bleed in his cranium and water in his lungs."

"Gods, this is getting ridiculous," Miriam groaned. "Better to put him out of his misery than give him back to that idiot."

"He pays our salary."

"And he could make us disappear if we tried anything," she finished. "he man's an arrogant bastard with way too much time on his hands," she replied. "I'm not handing him over to the fleet until he's completely healed this time. The dumb frak is so high and mighty on rules in the fleet; well, let's see how he works when I throw the entire book of medical regs at him."

"That's a dangerous game, Doctor."

"I'm aware Cassandra, but that man will not survive another round of 'debriefing." She grimaced at the thinly veiled term for the torture the pilot was undergoing. "Gods know how he's been surviving this." She looked at the injured pilot. "He may not have to for much longer."

"What?" the Nurse asked, not quite hearing what had just been said.

"I swore an oath, Carol," Miriam spoke up. "I'm following that Oath. I patch him up and bring him as close to full health as I can and then this happens. I can't allow that to keep happening."

"Unless we want trouble Miriam, there's nothing else we can do except treat him as well as we can. Look, I know you hate this I'm not too fond of it either but he is one of those responsible for the deaths of most of people on this planet."

"He's being blamed for something hundreds of people were involved in. I'm not trying to excuse him but he's just a pilot he probably doesn't know anything to begin with." Miriam sighed. "They just want to do this because they can. It's the same as any other war. Brutality and murder. He'll simply take the man when he's even remotely well enough, sooner or later he'll tell them everything that they want to know. No man can take that kind of treatment and survive intact, Corman doesn't want information he's a sadist and a monster and wants to gratify himself with the blood of others. The man's a menace."

"He's trying to get some information out of the pilot, same as anyone else."

"One low ranking pilot on a single mission, how the hell is he supposed to have all the information that we apparently need?" Miriam asked. "It's like asking a first year med student how to cure the Three Worlds plague."

Miriam rubbed her eyes with a tired hand. She had been moved from Picon Command to the emergency command bunker to a Battlestar to another bunker without warning and without a chance to orient herself. Combined with treating so many ill or dying she had little energy left, especially now she had to patch up the Tau'ri pilot for the third, or forth time.

"This isn't right, none of this."

"It's war, Miriam."

"Why is it war?"

"Because…"

"Never mind. Forget it, I'm just overtired."

"We both are."

"And no sleep until we patch this man up." Miriam stood up wearily. "I can't let this go on Cassie, I just can't."

"What else can we do?"

"I don't know. I really don't know."


	14. Chapter Thirteen

Chapter 13

_**Combat Information Centre**_

_**Underground Command Bunker**_

"Anything?"

"Not a frakking thing," Corman responded. "He's very good at keeping his secrets."

"Or, it's possible he doesn't know anything," replied General Howard, his throat rasping.

"He's said a few things in his mumblings, something about a Wing Commander Skywalker commanding his squadron among other things, plus something about an orbital satellite they are building called the 'Satellite Of...' something or other," the lead interrogator replied. "We're not sure. But it sounded like they're using or including the use of some form of Cylon-like robots working with the human crew. However the biggest problem is some super ship that they have been planning for a while multiple missile batteries and energy weapons, name of _Yamato_."

"That's something," Howard gasped. "Proves that the Tau'ri are willing to go about using AIs. With luck they'll have a Cylon problem and we'll be able to finish off what's left of them after their war."

"It's not enough," Corman barked. "Once he's recovered enough, I'm authorising the use of chemical interrogation. It's quicker and we'll likely get more out of him. If they have a super ship coming online we need to stop them any way we can."

"Is that wise Admiral?" the interrogator spoke up. "We risk losing him completely. Those drugs have bad side effects."

The General wasn't interested in the welfare of the prisoner. The mention of a Tau'ri warship more powerful than the ones they already had had shaken him far more than he had let on. "This pilot has been in the tender care of the medical personnel for several days." The Chief Medical Officer has overridden every order he have given to bring the Tau'ri prisoner out for more interrogation. "It seems that the CMO has the ear of several of the cabinet and has refused to allow us to continue with our questioning until the pilot is capable of surviving for longer."

"Override her and take the bastard then."

"If I continue on the tack, Sir," the interrogator said, "he will die and I won't be able to get anything out of him. But to be honest I don't think he knows anything we don't already know. The rest of this is a waste of time and sooner or later we'll kill him. And what about the prisoners at Earth? What'll happen to them if the Tau'ri finds out what we did to theirs?"

"After what happened to Earth? They're already dead. If he dies, he dies. It's that simple," Corman spoke up. "We'll simply find another one."

"You're joking right?" Howard laughed before coughing and gasping for air. "It took how long to get this one?" despite the wracking coughs, he really felt better.

"There are always other plans afoot General. The Tau'ri are good but they aren't omnipotent," Corman smirked. "I received a message from one of the roving task forces. They found a Tau'ri encampment and are ready to take them down."

"This close to the Colonies?" This time when he shivered, it had nothing to do with the flu.

"Indeed," he confirmed. "That was my reaction, too. There's no sign of the ship that attacked us but the gun footage of the defence Vipers have brought something to my attention. The visual footage we can gather isn't blocked by the Tau'ri's ECM capabilities. If this is correct we have a problem." 

He pulled out a number of stills from the Battle over Earth and some from the massacre over Picon. Both views were of the sides of vessels from the Earth forces. An unfamiliar triangular symbol sat on the flank while a name sat close to the front of the ship, both pictures showed the exact same name.

"That's not possible," Howard said paling as the implications slapped him. "It has to be two ships with the same name!"

"No," Corman shook his head. "I think it's the same ship, with their improved shields and weapons, I should have guessed that their FTL drives would have been enhanced as well. In addition, we've managed to translate the ship's name, yet another name in their long line of anti-gods propaganda."

This wasn't good for the war. If it was true then that Tau'ri ship beat the fleet to the Colonies. "Who is it this time?"

"Odysseus, the name of the ship is Odyssey."

"I'm surprised at you, Corman." Howard said. "You're as religious as I am," he smirked. "The fact I've not been to church in twenty five years or more is equal only to your time spent there."

"That name gives me a hold on the fleet for the moment. There's enough religious zealots around that when we release this people will flock to expand the fleet and ground forces," Corman told him coolly. "Mob mentality is very easy to control, more so when it's religiously-based and righteous in its motivation."

"True," Howard conceded. "The armed forces won't need that many personnel for a while but the boneyards are in bad shape." Howard sniffled. "Sixty three ships have been stripped down and entire sections gone. Many more vessels are missing weapons turrets, engine systems and even viper catapults."

"Black market?"

"More than likely, but there is a bright side," Howard said. "A number of components taken by these thieves are easily traced due to their unique construction. A dozen cruisers from the Internal Security forces have begun tracking them. We should have them soon."

"It doesn't matter. Those ships will be of little to no use at all to the fleet."

"Speaking of…"

"I'm ahead of you. The entire liberation fleet will remain in Picon orbit under EMCON for now. Their commanders are too cowed by the quarantine stations to do otherwise. They are a problem that we need to get a grip on, but for the moment they are the safest people on the Colonies because of this damn plague."

"What's more, if they do start to talk they will unravel the entire story we've been feeding the people since before the attack even began. The damage from that alone could be worse than the attack on Picon was. " Howard sighed. "Sorry gentlemen, but I am not too happy with these turn of events. This damn virus is making it even worse for us. At least it gives us deniability as to why we won't allow the crews to leave their ships."

"We can't leave them there forever," Corman replied. "There's the moon of Elysium, and it's inhabitable."

"And it's also close to the Cylon territories, and that makes for a perfect sabre rattling exercise. It'll make sure the chrome jobs stay on their side of the border. With the damage we've taken from the Tau'ri, the Cylons would try to take advantage of our losses before we can make good on them. With Adar getting involved in fleet deployments, things will get worse."

"He won't allow for those ships to be redeployed without any culpable proof that they aren't needed where they are for now. For that we need a lot more Intel than we've got and a hell of a lot more than we got before this foolhardy attack went ahead," Corman said. "The pilot will tell us what little he knows one way or the other, until then I'll authorise the deployment of three Battlestars for the retrieval of the probes we seeded before and after the battle over Earth. We'll use the remaining Stealthstars to bypass their scans."

"You're sure they won't be able to see the ships we send in?"

"You are giving them too much credit. They never saw the probes we dropped into the system both before and after the disaster. The Stealthstars are smaller and better equipped with the newest ECM. There's no chance the Tau'ri will be able to see them unless we want to."

"The second they jump the probes out of the system the energy pulse will be like a beacon," Howard replied. "It won't take them long to find the recovery ships."

"We will only need a few minutes, the Tau'ri won't have the time with their inferior FTL drives to even come close to taking the probes or the ships sent for them." Corman mused, "In fact I think I have the perfect ship to send after them."

"Inferior faster-than-light drive?" gasped Howard. "In-what-way?" he almost yelled. "It's not instantaneous but that ship got here before our fleet did! We have to change our thinking or we will lose this war!"

Fuming, but duly chastened, Howard nodded slowly. He beckoned the general and both men moved off to the side away from the others trying to pretend that they weren't listening in. "We need the intelligence data on those probes. I will not use our local defences. I wouldn't do that," Corman told him. "We scrapped the Cylon border penetration for this war against the Tau'ri. Adama is a straight shooter. He won't be willing to risk even more ships on a half-assed errand at the risk of losing yet more Battlestars."

"Agreed. He's a straight shooter and he follows orders, orders that come from the joint chiefs will override his conscience with a sense of duty. He'll do as he's told and pick up the probes when we tell him to."

"If we lose a couple of ships then it's less we'll have to deal with in the long term. The fewer we have to process the better in the long run."

"You better be right about that Corman, otherwise we'll not only lose the Intel but some damn good crews in the process. We've already lost more than during the entire frakking Cylon war. We need everything we can get before the Tau'ri decides to come for us."

"The probes will be easy to retrieve, the information downloaded and brought back within a few days. Plans have already been drawn up for this contingency. There was always the risk of losing to the Tau'ri but they are too few in number and have too little in resources to risk taking on the Colonies in anything more than a few terror raids."

"You better be right Corman because we can't afford another attack like Picon. We've lost too much infrastructure to make good this side of the decade. It was just one ship that did that." Howard sniffed, blew his nose. "Now if you'll excuse me I have things to do."

Corman watched him go. It had been just one ship-and if they were building a bigger more powerful one…. "Frak!"

_**IOA Briefing Room**_

_**Whitehall**_

_**London**_

"No, General," the IOA rep said in no uncertain terms. "We will not allow the only functional ship left in the fleet to be sent with the rest. The _Ajax_ is the only remaining ship left in the fleet that is fully active and capable of commanding a secondary defensive line. If the Wraith break through the first fleet's lines then we will need that ship and its escorts to prevent the landing of drop ships or troops onto our planet's surface."

"Sir, the _Daedalus_ class as a whole has been refit with an enhanced version of the Asgard weapons aboard the _Prometheus_ as well as improved shielding. The _Ajax_ would be of better use with the main fleet. The numbers we have to send against two hives are ridiculously small compared to the number of ships that they carry, even if we were able to take down one of the hives, the other would be able to slip through."

"Then the Ajax, her escort squadrons and the other defences on this planet should be able to take care of the other long enough for the first squadron to return to reinforce us," the Representative smirked. "You'll have to do better than that General."

"First of all, '_Sir'." _Jack said derisively, "the Wraith took down the Alterans. There's a possibility that every defence we have in orbit around this planet will be swept aside. The fact that they fought and defeated the creators of the defence platform we rely on to defend Earth may mean that they have the ability to defend against the drones. We don't know that we can defend this world against the Wraith, splitting our forces at this time would be the worst thing we can do."

"That isn't your call to make, General."

"Yes, Sir, my title is 'Commander of Homeworld Security', during a time of war. The decisions of the Command staff of HWS overrides that of the IOA or United nations in decisions of vital importance to the defence of this planet. We are at war with the Colonies gentlemen, we didn't ask for this war and we don't want it, but the colonies have decided that Earth is there's and that we will be for the better under their guidance."

"We understand this General..."

"With all due respect Sir, you don't seem to know how overmatched we are right now. The Colonials outnumber us by five times and have more than twelve times the resources to call on. Every ship we have could be destroyed by a single ramming attack or they could bypass our ships altogether and hit the planet from within the atmosphere. There is no way to truly know how and when we'll be attacked again."

"All the more reason to keep the _Ajax_ at Earth with the other ships under repair. It will give us ample opportunity to hold off our enemies while we mobilise everything else we can. If the colonials attack, one ship can hold off almost anything. The battle that you yourself commanded should show that more than anything."

"That battle lost us a ship damaged two more and was only able to stop the attack from succeeding because the Colonials were arrogant and thought they could bully through a few weakly armed ships. Next time they will not be so easy to take down. We need every ship we can get to keep them from taking us down. That is why we need to send the _Ajax_. It gives us a better chance of bringing everyone back rather than lose even a single ship."

"Sending every ship we have against the Wraith would be suicide if any other race decides to come for us, because of the SGC we've made a lot of enemies over the years _General,_" the representative to the right countered. "You are fortunate to be allowed to take the ships we have permitted you. The attack may succeed or it may not, but if they get past you we need that ship to lead the new squadrons as and when they are launched. The matter is settled, I suggest you get on with your preparations."

"Yes, Sir." O'Neill said sharply, turning from the three person panel he walked out of the door barely acknowledging the Special Forces guards to either side of the room. "Bunch of arrogant blind morons, stupid, over reaching piles of horse..."

"Bad news, General?"

O'Neill didn't stop as his exec strode up next to him. The Colonel seemed much more at ease in their current surroundings than he did. The years working for the Pentagon must have allowed Davis to develop immunity to the politicking and bull headedness of politicians that wanted their own way no matter the costs. Those same traits were now damaging HWS' ability to defend the planet. Sighing, he kept walking as Davis moved into step alongside.

"I take it, it didn't go too well."

"Understatement of the week Colonel. They've vetoed the _Ajax_ being sent with the rest of the fleet. They want one of our intact ships to lead the charge of the light brigade if the first fleet fails to stop the Wraith."

"Sir, if the first fleet fail to stop the hives then whatever's left will barely slow them down even with the Ancient outpost on our side."

"This I'm aware of, Colonel. The IOA don't seem to want to take the word of a high ranking military officer when their own people tell them differently," O'Neill snarled. "The defences in place won't hold any major attack right now so I can wait and order the defences to stay in place, or I can pre-empt the Wraith and hope to hell we can hurt them badly enough."

"The _Daedalus_ and _Odyssey_ are in place, Sir. The rest of the fleet is at station keeping. They are ready to go on your order," Davis replied. "Permission to speak freely, Sir."

"Go ahead."

"You've been leading teams and fleets for over twenty years. Second guessing yourself at this juncture would be a mistake as well as damaging for morale throughout the planetary defence structure." He shrugged. "You can send the fleet or leave it in place and back it up with the rest of our people but neither plan will assure us of beating the Wraith. Their ships are big and nasty and can take more damage than anything else we've seen to date."

"But if it looks like I'm not doing anything, it'll damage HWS' credibility and would undermine the command structure both with us and the IOA's leaders."

"Very likely, Sir."

It took all of a second for the General to make his decision. "Contact the fleet; Ajax is to take position with her escorts at point Bravo. Inform the Assault force at point that the mission is a go. All ships to jump to hyperspace within the hour and send my regards to General Caldwell," O'Neill replied. The colonel had been brevetted for this mission to remove any problems that may come from the chain of command. "Ajax will be remaining to head the planetary defence forces, all other ships in the fleet are to leave at once, as soon as they are in place at the ambush point they are to send burst transmissions only then go to silent running. With luck the Wraith won't even see us coming."

"Yes, Sir." Davis made a note on his PDA but he hesitated before turning to his commanding officer. He was wary of giving the other man yet more bad news but he didn't have that much of a choice right now. "Sir we have a problem with the fleet. The Colonial volunteers are showing signs of more sickness. Most of the inoculations have been effective but we can't get everything. We're looking at almost a fifth of the effective strength of the Colonial fighter corps and almost an eight of the ships crews, being combat ineffective."

"Great."

"We've got more volunteers that have come forward. We're putting them through testing to make sure none of them become too badly ill on the way there. But it looks like we're going to be understaffed on both their ships and their fighters."

"Thoughts, Colonel?"

"Just one Sir, we contact the Jaffa and the Pengarans."

"The Pen…" O'Neill realised his exec's train of thought. "There is no way that the IOA will authorise the resources to pay for that much Tretonin Davis. They barely allowed for us to transfer enough of our stockpiles and technology information to pay for the Al'kesh fleet we're getting from the Jaffa."

"If we want to keep them alive we need Tretonin and we need to get them offworld onto a planet where they can survive without our diseases attacking them."

"An off-world POW camp?"

"Yes Sir, we already have a planet in mind. Hanka. It has some rudimentary infrastructure and the planet's ecosystem is free of the majority of viruses that exist on Earth, and with luck the planet should be a decent encampment.

"Cassie's planet?"

"We've excavated Nirrti's lab and the Asgard can't find any sign of any other Goa'uld technology anywhere on the planet. We can start to put together a prefab camp on the other side within a few days on your say so. We've got plans set up for it as well as a defence post around the stargate on the other end so the POWs won't be able to see the gate let alone find out how to work it."

"So we'll be revealing our biggest advantage over the Colonials to their people?"

"It's the only way to keep the prisoners alive and kicking, Sir."

"It won't wash with the IOA or the public. As far as most of them are concerned the Colonials can rot."

"That's the major problem, Sir."

"Get onto the French and British Army Corps of Engineers. Neither have been hit by the Colonials yet so they may be more willing to assist the Colonials with building the POW camp off world. Meanwhile increase the inoculation plans and allow the aid agencies to begin drops to the bay. Then have the CDC check on our Cylon prisoners see if they have any of the same problems as the others."

"Already underway, Sir. Doctors Lam and Keller have both reported that their immune systems seem to be coping better with some of our illnesses than others. Their isolation from both the Colonials and most of our own people has left them with only a few illnesses that we've easily cured with standard medications."

"I sense a 'but' here."

"The Cylons have been forthcoming with the information about their original creation but have been wary to as to how the humanoids were created. The genetics seem to have been spliced by using more than a dozen other strains per model. The Asgard are very interested in what and how the Cylon humanoids were created. They hope it might shed some light on their own problems."

"Not a chance in hell."

"I thought you'd say that Sir, but Heimdelland Tyr from the Asgard council will be arriving within the month to talk to the Cylons and they'll be bringing an escort for their 'guest."

"Guest?"

"Yes Sir, that's why Thor contacted us ahead of time, they're bringing Loki to Earth."

"That little snit!"

"Which one?"

"At this time I'll count them all together on this one."

"We can ask them not to come, Sir, or at least to leave Loki behind."

"They'll never accept that. When it comes to the Asgard they usually do what they think is best one way or another. Besides, they did send us a couple of ships and are helping clean up the radiation. Still, he is a snit." O'Neill sighed. "Send a message that we'll welcome them and if they can spare a cruiser or two to take down these damn Wraith before they decide to wipe us out."

"I'll try, Sir," Davis replied.

_**USAF Daedalus**_

_**Flagship**_

_**First Allied Assault Fleet**_

High above the planet seven ships sat in formation awaiting the order to depart. The three races that made up the group seethed at the fact that so soon after the murder of their fellows on both sides that they were to have to work together to fight a threat that one side did not believe in and the other knew could wipe out every human world in the Colonial and Tau'ri's spheres of influence. The forced détente had already caused friction between the crews of the Battlestars and their captors. Impatient, hostile crewmen and women on both sides had threateningly pointed their guns towards each other, each threatening action causing the other side to train their guns on the other ships. The risks that these arrogant displays had caused problems for the command staffs of both sides. Several members of the ships' crews from both sides to be relieved of duty and transferred back Earth side.

"Signal is a go, Sir," Major Marks said. "CIC Homeworld Security wishes us God's speed."

"Have the tenders decouple and pull away. Status on munitions?"

"Main railguns are active; Lucifer rounds have been loaded one in four in all weapons. CIWS upgrade is in position. Missiles are operational. We've been given a few of the Mark 8bs by command. Should give us a decent punch, Sir."

"The Asgard weapon?"

"About as ready as it can be Sir. Testing was completed this morning." Marks touched his radio earpiece. "Both tenders are away and wish us luck."

Three of the small ships on loan from the Hebridans pulled away from the twin _Daedalus_ class ships, their flashing lights wishing the human crews luck on their way.

"Acknowledge the message Major and inform the fleet. All ships ready for hyperspace in four minutes. Helm lock in co-ordinates for the outer galactic sphere."

"Systems locked in sir. We should be there within a day or so," the helm officer replied. "I've got the Asgard commander on the line."

"Put him on."

"_General Caldwell, our ships are ready to begin."_

"Thank you Captain." He looked to the side. "All ships comms, Major."

Marks tapped in a few controls. "All ships comms online. Colonial ships are tied in."

"This is Daedalus to all ships, ready for immediate hyperspace jump, thirty seconds and counting."

"_This is _Odyssey_, we're ready."_

"Gungnir_ and _Apotheosis_ are ready to begin."_

"_Ajax Group ready to assist if you need us, wish we were coming with you."_

"_Battlestar group is ready for deployment. Sire it is my duty to inform you that our people are wary about this General." _

"Understood Colonel, we'll try to make this as painless as possible. Ten seconds to hyperspace jump, good luck people. _Daedalus_ out."

"Sir, we're reading the _Odyssey_ and the Asgard ships hyperdrives powering up to maximum, tractor beams are locking them in place close to the Battlestars. I'm moving us into place."

Marks manoeuvred the small warship into its final position, on the screen a view of the _Odyssey_ popped up a pair of beams shooting out from their undercarriage anchoring them to the 'alligator' heads of two of the Colonial warships.

"Engineering this is the Bridge."

"_Engineering, Novak here."_

"Proceed, Doctor."

"_Yes, Sir." _

Down in the bowels of the warship the main reactors powered up as energy was diverted from the powerful naquada generators to the hyperdrives. Back up systems activate and channelled even more energy from the smaller Mark Three generators to the newly installed tractor systems. The Asgard had spent days improving each of the Tau'ri's meagre fleet. New weapons, shields, hyperdrives and other assorted goodies had replaced the earlier models causing the engineering teams to drool at the thoughts of the chance to find out how they worked properly.

Having replaced the lower 'Bomb bay' section of the _Odyssey_ and _Daedalus_ the gravitic based energy tether linked them to the Battlestars. The same beams emitted from the Asgard ships tied them to the rear of the Battlestars. With two beams attached to each ship the entire group began to move slowly speeding up as the massive reaction engines of the Colonial ships engaged.

"All ships are underway, hyperdrive active in three…"

In front of the assembled group a truly massive hyperspace window began to form, the linked engines of the four allied ships pouring more and more energy into space stabilising and expanding the window to encompass the seven ships. The _Ajax_ and her escorts from the Hebridans and the few active _Apollos_ finally in service pulled up behind the allied flotilla and began pumping their own energies into the window, the huge storm of light grew as the entire first combat group moved forward into the maw.

With a flash of light the human and Asgard ships disappeared into the void, the hyperspace window crashing down behind them. The _Ajax_ and her escorts turned around and headed back to their stations high above the planet's surface. The small group of ships were now all that stood as a mobile defence against their enemies.

"We're in Sir. All ships read flying normal. Battlestar armor's keeping most of the radiation out."

"Watch their levels Major. If we have to we'll extend our shields around them," Caldwell replied.

"Aye, Sir."

_**Battlestar Dionysus**_

_**Battlestar Group Flagship**_

The ship lurched slightly as the gravity went into flux. The jump into the Tau'ri's unknown type of FTL drive was placing a strain on the massive warships' hulls. Their armoured structures shuddered as they passed into the hyperspace realm. Groans echoed through the ships caused the crews to look around nervously.

Inside the twin bays of the lead ship, pops were heard as the external hatches of a number of viper tubes were pulled open by the transition. The inner doors still held fast as the frantic engineers began to weld massive chunks of metal over the airlocks hoping to keep out the vacuum and radiation. Almost half of the tubes were unusable with the same story being played all over the other ships. Evacuations began all across the hanger decks forcing more and more of the deckhands to seek sanctuary within the massively armoured shell.

"Boss, we've lost another two hatches in section nine."

"That's the entirety of the section's outer hatches Chief," the man next to him said nervously.

Chief Hall looked up and down the massive bays vipers and raptors as they were pushed back into the repair bays, placed on trolleys or simply standing abandoned while hundreds of crewmen ran around trying to patch the injuries the massive ship was already taken.

"I know! Lower the crash bulkheads and seal the entire section off, it's no use anymore."

"Yes, Chief."

"What about the main hatches?" the chief asked.

"Both are secure Boss. It seems it's the shear of travelling that's doing the damage. There's a hell of a lot less pressure on either end of this pod, same for the starboard side." Barratt looked around. "We could be looking at a full loss of all viper bays if this keeps up. Once the outer sections go then the rest of the inner hatches will follow and we'll lose both bays to decompression. With that, there's no way we can even…."

He was interrupted by an alarm, the entire ship rocked as the decompression alert screamed all around them.

"What the frak was that?" Hall demanded.

"That came from up top, boss."

"That wasn't a hatch." Hall's eyes widened, he snatched up a phone from its cradle. "It was a hell of a lot bigger! CIC this is Port Bay."

"_CIC, Colonel Halcyon here,"_ he heard a voice shout over the alert.

"We've got a hull breach in the port upper bay, Sir."

"_We've lost one of the flak cannons on the topside, Chief. We're locking it down as best we can."_

"It's worse than that, Sir. We're in it deep down here. The outer hatches to the viper tubes are blowing open. We've lost nine on this side and fourteen in the starboard bay." He paused. "If we start losing the inner hatches, this ship will be in serious trouble."

"_Can you reinforce them?"_

"Not unless we jump out and allow our crew to climb into the tubes to weld on a punch of patches."

"_Not a chance, Chief. We jump out-we're got getting back again."_

"Then I can't guarantee that we'll be able to launch any vipers whatsoever when we arrive, Sir. The bays on all our ships may end up totally useless."

"_Then that's the Tau'ri's lookout. They wanted us on this fools' errand and if they have a problem with the way we work they can fight these Wraith alone,"_ Deacon snarled. _"Besides I'm not convinced they even mean to return us either to Earth or the Colonies."_

"_Sir?"_ Halcyon asked.

"_You saw what happened when they pulled us into their perverted version of FTL. Their entire fleet was needed just to open up the entryway into it. In order to take the entire fleet back would take more power than they have combined, some of us or all of us are not coming back from this battle Colonel and I don't think the Tau'ri will give a damn about what happens to us."_

"Sir, with all due respect, we should inform the Tau'ri about this problem," interrupted the Chief through the open phone. "The hatches are just the first to go. With this kind of punishment, the flak cannons and point defence guns will be stripped off. We'll have nothing but the missiles and the main guns and I can't promise that the bay missile hatches will stay intact either."

"_The Tau'ri wouldn't risk letting us any closer. The fact that I wouldn't hesitate to fire every weapon I had at their exposed rear side means that they would be wary of us at the best times."_

"_That's possible Sir, but it's also possible they know they have no choice. We'll simply end up at the other end with damage that precludes us from taking part in combat. If they really wanted us dead then they had no reason to allow us to live after the rest of the fleet withdrew,"_ Halcyon replied. _"Three non-functional warships will be a bane to them not, the support that they need and they also know that we won't risk firing on them in here."_

"_I'm aware of what would happen in here if they cut us loose Colonel_." The Colonial Commander sighed. _"But I will not allow people to die for the sake of my ego, get me a line through to Caldwell. Chief, keep your people back from the outer hull, but be ready for anything."_

"Aye, Sir," the chief replied. "We'll keep her together, port bay clear."

"Sir," piped, the comms officer. "I have General Caldwell on the line."

"This is _Dionysus_ Actual. We have a few problems, General."

"_We gathered when we saw a number of your hull plates disappear into normal space."_

"Yes," Deacon grimaced. "As we informed your people again and again General, our ships' hulls can't take the punishment that this hyperspace voyage is throwing at us. We've lost half our viper tubes and some of our hull mounted weapons. We need to stop and reinforce the damaged sections or have your ships put their shields around us to stop the damage from accumulating."

"_We can't stop Commander which you know full well. The Asgard ships will be resetting their shields to surround your ships, but one false move Commander and I'll throw you ship out of hyperspace without a window."_

"Unlike some General, I want to keep my crews alive and kicking enough to return home. We'll follow your orders, just hold up to your side of the bargain. _Dionysus_ Clear." Deacon killed the channel. "If they want to do anything to keep them and us alive, then they will risk using their shields."

Almost instantly the trembling of the massive warship were reduced to a barely perceptible hum before dying out completely. Radio communications allowed the other Battlestars to report the same thing. All three vessels were now safely encompassed within the energy fields of the four Tau'ri allied ships, Halcyon spoke rapidly into the phone as the damage reports came flooding over the ship's channels.

"_Understood, we'll start transfer of gunnery teams and spare pilots when we can. Dionysus out."_

"Colonel?"

"Sir, the _New Horizon _took a full hull breach in their starboard pod. They lost three hundred crewmembers including techs, gunners and pilots. Nine vipers were also pulled out when the inner and outer hatches gave out."

"Frak."

"Yes, Sir. The _Hephestian_ was equipped with a pair of extra squadron above its usual numbers, it was hoped that she could be used to replace any more ill pilots we may end up with on the way in. Flight crews aside neither ship can afford another loss like that. We don't have the crew numbers to refill any more losses, we're bad enough off as it is."

"Get me a full assessment of damage to all three ships. I need to know if we have the supplies and equipment to repair everything before these Wraith turn up. If not we'll strip what we can off the worst and repair our better off ships. If it comes to it we'll use the remaining ship to ram them or jump into their ship."

"To be fair Sir, why don't we simply jump a Battlestar into the enemy ship? The resultant explosion should kill anything in the area."

"A damn good question Colonel and I don't know what the answer is but I'm gathering that they want to keep as many of our ships as they can intact for some reason. Or they may want to kill us in as useful as way as possible, killing two enemies at the same time. I also doubt that they would let us jump anyway especially as they need us a hell of a lot more than we need them."

"With all respect, Sir. I hope you're wrong."

"You know something, Colonel, so do I."

_**USAF Daedalus**_

_**Fleet Flagship**_

"Asgard ships have expanded their mass fields, Sir. All of the Battlestars are stabilised but they're showing serious damage across the board. The Odyssey has dropped its tractor beam." Marks looked at his board. "The new dampeners we installed have been dialled up. It should keep them intact for the rest of the journey. Sorry Sir we didn't see this coming in the simulations, the Colonial ships weren't built for this kind of journey."

"Very Well." Caldwell replied, "Drop our beam."

"Beam dropped."

The twin _Daedalus_ class ships deactivated their tractor beams as the larger _Beliskner_ class ships took up the slack and then they helped to reinforce the mass displacement fields that the Asgard vessels were able to throw around their ships. The entire convoy slowed minutely as the massive neutrino-ion reactors strained to increase the power to the fields and the engines at the same time. Even the advanced technologies of the alien race had a limit to its capabilities especially for ships as old as these were.

The ten thousand year-old _Beliskners_ had been at the forefront of the Asgard fleet in wars against the Goa'uld, the Replicators and against a number of smaller races punching above their weight. These vessels had now been relegated to patrol around an outer border well away from any ship or planet that the Replicators would threaten. More and more of their sister ships had been recalled and refit to throw at the enemy line until the newer and more powerful version could come online.

Since the end of the war with the bug like mechanicals most of the ancient vessels had been replaced and decommissioned in favour of newer ships such as the _Jackson_ and _O'Neill_ classes. A number had been replaced with advanced versions of the _Beliskner_ class newly build and enhanced by the technologies built into the _O'Neill_ class. This had left a tiny handful of the close to thousand year old war ships still in use, ships no longer powerful enough to take on anything bigger than a handful of Tau'ri ships.

Now two of their number had been 'donated' to the fledgling fleet of the Earth-born humans, a race that few if any of the Asgard would be willing to see destroyed. The actions of their young allies had allowed for the resurrection of the Asgard Empire and defeated the Replicators once and for all. The old but powerful ships now took up the slack from the _Daedalus_ class vessel pushing their systems to more than three quarters their capacity. The fact neither ship had been past half power in centuries made them wary.

"Asgard ships are stabilising. We've dropped in speed by ten percent."

"ETA?"

"About nine hours later than we thought. We'll be there two hours before the Wraith, that's if they still drop out of hyperspace at the same co-ordinates."

"Thoughts, Major?"

"Sir, they can do the math as well as we can. They could jump out earlier than planned and bypass us altogether. They most likely know that we're going to send something to stop them. The Wraith are monsters but they aren't stupid."

"Agreed Major, but for now those co-ords are all we've got. Program in a contingency plan. If we have to we'll jump out early, and have the Asgard scan the area. If they do drop out we'll know the next stop on the way and we'll redeploy there."

"Yes, Sir." Marks responded. "Sir we're getting a transmission for HWS Command, the ceremonies are about to begin."

"Pipe the transmission to ALL the ships in the fleet. Let them hear it."

"The Colonials won't be happy. It might well degrade their combat capability after hearing it."

"Or they'll think we're full of it, Major. Play the video."

_**Cylon Baseship **_

_**Twelve light years outside the Cyrannus Sector**_

"Are you sure about this sister?"

A Number Three stood outside the airlock linking the huge station to an old style base star. "The Humans are a threat both within the colonies and on Earth, so why do you believe they can be trusted?"

"I don't trust them, but there is a possibility that the Tau'ri could be worthwhile allies against the Colonials. Remember the Tau'ri have no idea who we are, what we are and how we are linked to the Colonies. They have no reason to hate us or fear us, not with their capabilities."

"And this is the only reason you're doing this?"

"Don't be obtuse," Six scowled. "It's exactly the same as any other infiltration, the Tau'ri don't know much of anything. But they may be willing to listen to a former enemy of the Colonies in how to take them down, if not then at least we gather enough intelligence to possibly find a way into their systems. Either way we get something we need."

"And if they decide to simply blow you out of space because you've jumped into their space?"

"Then we die," Six shrugged. "We have no link to the hub, none to any of our other ships. Without them we simply cease to exist."

"You're not joking, are you?"

"No I'm not. This first contact could be the beginning of a new era for Cylonkind, an ally willing to fight our enemies to a standstill allowing for us to hit the Colonials from behind. If anything Cavil was right when he said that what was needed is to know about our enemies before we can kill them. If we simply jumped in and nuked their home world, how long before they take our entire race apart?"

"God wouldn't allow that."

"God hasn't seen what the Tau'ri can do. If he had he wouldn't have risked allowing us to make contact with them."

"You're walking close to heresy, Six."

"Heresy, or common sense and logic? Three, you have seen what has happened to our brothers and sisters after they were exposed to the Tau'ri's technology. If they are so completely capable of destroying our links to each other and to the resurrection technology then why have we even made contact with them? A war would destroy us all, human or Cylon."

"You know me Six, I'm not a rabid religious type like some of my sisters but there is always a reason even if God hasn't told us why. He has his reasons."

"I'm not so sure about that Three. Our God may have given us life but he can not be omnipotent or omniscient not with the way that things are going for us. He risked our destruction, possibly even an alliance between the human worlds when he allowed for the Prometheus to find the Colonies. Now even with their own conflict I don't think either side would back down and allow the total eradication of the other human worlds especially by an enemy that neither can nor will trust."

Intelligence had been gathered by the systematic download and compilation of the memories of those that had died or been brought back to the resurrection ships. All of them were broken or missing parts of themselves. All but one of the 'survivors' had been terminated and their data taken apart at the very basic level. The information gathered by the Cylons had been worrying indeed.

The Colonies were in an uproar far beyond that of the war fortyyears earlier. The deaths of so many of their people at the hands of fellow humans had angered them beyond words. Every ship, space-capable fighter and soldier was being called up by the human armed forces. What little information they had been able to uncover from the lost agents had let them know that the Colonial fleet had lost more than three hundred ships in less than three months. That was something that their fleet had been unable to do over twelve years of war. But the down side had meant that every ship in the slipways and bone yards had been rushed into refit and completion to make up the numbers lost.

With the risk of what the Colonials could become if they rearmed their non-networked vessels, Natalie had decided that her way was best. The attempt to shut down all the Cylon ships in the system had been easily seen as a transparent ploy. It was dealt with by giving a simple command to a group of Centurions to secure one of the vessels. A second command was issued to insure that the first order wasn't countermanded.

Strolling through the metal and plexiglas tunnel, the three Cylon women looked up at the massive spaceship ahead of them. The two tiered hourglass shaped ship had been one of the great designs of the Colonial fleet. Dedicated to defence and overwhelming numbers of fighters, the renegade Cylons had used them against their enemies but unable to build enough to replace those Colonial's larger material base could destroy.

Now however the old veterans of the Cylon War of Independence sat drifting in space their massive shapes relegated to lesser roles while the Basestar had been upgraded with new engines and new computers based on those on the newer Baseships. The nukes and main cannons were still of the old war vintage. Most of these older ships had been requisitioned as ore movers and personnel transport for centurions and humanoids. The use of one of the newer ships would have allowed the other humanoids to track her and find out what she was doing, going against consensus was unthought-of but like her sister Sixes, Natalie was never one to follow protocol.

"I'll wish you both luck on this then," Three replied. "My own mission is coming up so I won't be here when you get back."

"Good luck to you too, Three" Natalie replied. "Watch out for the others as well. Cavil's line won't take this lying down."

Nodding her farewell, the Number Three exited the bridge and a few minutes later cleared the pressurised walkway between the massive superstructure of the Cylon outpost and the ship it dwarfed. Watching as the other woman's ship disappeared back into the cavernous bays of the outpost the Number six turned in her seat and looked at the arrayed DRADIS screens that made up the walls of the chamber.

"Engage the FTL drive. Take us to the first set of co-ordinates," Natalie ordered.

"By your command."

The ancient first line Basestar disappeared in a flash of light appearing over fifty light years away from the Cylon system. Seconds later, the ship's computer activated the jump engines a second time throwing the vessel another fifty light years. The curved trajectory had been calculated to allow for the ship to continue on its journey while bypassing the entire Cyrannus sector and its new outcroppings into the surrounding space. It had been unanimously agreed by every member of the three classes that made up their alliance that the risk of charging through Colonial space was foolhardy at best and suicidal at worst.

Dropping into normal space from the third jump the Basestar settled in space to recharge and cool her systems. Within seconds a dozen nukes slammed into the lower saucer of the Baseship. Railgun and missile fire peppered the empty raider bays opening the hull to the vacuum of space pulling out the few tankers and heavy shuttles that were sitting inside the lower bay.

"Report," Natalie demanded.

"We are under attack," the synthesised voice of the centurion replied.

"I know that, idiot!" she shouted. "Who the hell is attacking us?"

"We are under attack from Colonial Vipers."

"That's not possible! They can't know that we would be here," Natalie seethed, "Return fire."

"All main weapon system inoperative. Missile bays have been eliminated."

"Send out a distress call!"

"All frequencies are being jammed."

"What?"

"All frequencies are being jammed."

"The Colonials can't jam our signals; they wouldn't have the ability to."

The Centurion didn't speak; its body instead jerking up slightly to a ramrod stiff position. Raising from the seat the silver plated machine unholstered an old Colonial pattern handgun and blew a hole through the centurion to his right. Moving positions in a blink of an eye the Centurion blew a hole through the head of the number Eight before plunging it's free hand into the stomach of the Number Six and squeezing and rupturing several of her vital organs.

She screamed.

"You should have known better than this 'Natalie'," the vocoder spoke. The synthesised voice was different less automated and more fluid. The inflections that echoed through the antiquated Cylon warrior were oddly apparent to her pain and fear-drenched mind. "You have gone against consensus and now you will suffer for your arrogance and your willingness to risk us all for your quest to save these Tau'ri humans from our righteous vendetta against them all."

"Cavil, you fool," she gasped.

"This entire enterprise is much more foolish my dear Number Six. The fact that you would go against consensus and risk the lives of our entire race led me to one conclusion. You and your compatriots must be removed from the equation otherwise the rest of us will pay the price for your misdeeds. We are machines, they are humans. It is the way it is."

"Your logic... so f..faulty."

"I doubt that very much. We are Cylons. We do not make those kinds of mistakes. Consensus has been reached and for your action you are to be removed from the resurrection net and destroyed… permanently."

"Consensus… or y…y…your decision?"

"For you Number Six both are one and the same. It is quite a shame really. You are quite the agent and would have been a worthy member of the greater Cylon race." The voice paused. "Now you're simply nothing more than another dead human."

With that, the Cylon centurion reached high into the woman's chest and tore through her ribcage shattering the bones and puncturing what few remaining organs were still intact. Natalie was dead before she hit the floor. The battle was over. Both of the 'rogue' humanoids had been removed from command of the Basestar allowing for the Number Ones on the newly build base ship to retake the fifty year old relic.

"We can not allow for the others to find out about this brother."

"Agreed. There are enough destroyed Colonial ships in the area for the others to believe it was an accidental discovery by one of their exploration fleets."

"Deploy a number of nukes and heavy cannon rounds within the debris field, make it look like some of the weapons failed to detonate," Cavil replied. "Make sure we leave nothing behind to point towards us."

"There is a problem with this however."

"What?"

"If we retrieve the bodies of those in the fighters there will be no biological matter to prove the Colonials are responsible for this. A simple check will show that they were flown by members of our race."

"The Colonials would pick up those bodies that they could find," Cavil mused. "Find a Colonial ship that may have gone out of its way, pirate, smuggler of civilian and harvest the crews. Kill them and drop parts into the debris and make it quick it won't be more than a few days or so before others come looking for them."

"Are you sure this is a wise course of action, brother? No Cylon has ever killed another and we have just murdered two of our own."

"We don't have a choice. The risk of discovery and destruction of our race before we are ready is too great if we allow for the other lines to find and talk to the Tau'ri. The humans as a very race are a threat to our very existence and if we allow them to find out about our people before we are ready, then we will be destroyed. Humanity wherever they are, has already been sentenced by the consensus and it is our duty to carry it out."

"What about the ship? The others will want to know what happened to it."

"Order our ships to destroy it. The thing's useless now as it is."

"Very well."

_**Arlington Cemetery**_

_**Washington DC**_

_**United States Of America**_

Arlington Cemetery had for centuries been the final resting place for men and officers of the American Armed forces for more than a century. Soldiers, pilots, naval personnel even former senators and presidents were all interred at Arlington in memorial for their service to their country at times of grief and conflict. Since the attack on Earth by the Colonial fleet, tens of thousands of names had been added to the rosters of the fallen. Huge plinths etched with the names of the lost had been erected. It had taken months for the identities of every man and woman lost by the armed forces in the battles since the Stargate had been opened, names no-one would ever have known had the Colonials not attacked. More of the massive black and grey structures had been erected emblazoned with the names of non-American military personnel that had been lost in the wars against the Goa'uld, the Wraith and the Colonials.

"Good Morning." President Henry Hayes stepped up to the podium, the fluttering flag of the President's office that should have been in front of him had been replaced by that of a simple black flag. "Today we here as well as at a number of other memorials around the world we have gathered to remember the fallen that have given everything to protect this world and its people. Since the Stargate was discovered and expeditions sent throughout the known universe, the lives of soldiers, pilots, naval personnel, marines and civilians from different walks of life have been lost in combat, by accident, by betrayal, or as causalities of war. From the first team through the Stargate to the loss of the _Nimitz_ and her battle group, to the first battle against the Colonials within our own solar system we have taken casualties.

There are those who say that we should have anticipated the dangers of such exploration through the Stargate and that exploration in and of itself is a dangerous undertaking and the risk inherent in such endeavours are not worth the costs in lives. Some would say that those losses were unnecessary, or that we were ourselves responsible for what happened. Is this true? Perhaps in some measure, but without the Stargate and without the bravery of those both living and deceased, then we would not be in any position to defend ourselves or our world from any enemy that may decide to destroy us. I myself was once a military man. I have flown and served with some of the bravest and most dedicated men in any service."

Hayes paused as a thunder crack echoed above the assembled crowds, close to one hundred thousand people glanced around as small droplets began to spatter around them. Umbrellas and hats came out to keep the rain off of those assembled outside and within the huge cemetery.

The damage to Earth's atmosphere caused by the dust and fallout was being rapidly being removed by the combined efforts of the Earth forces and their Asgard allies. The blessing was that the nuclear radiation wouldn't cause even more difficulties for those most affected by the Colonial strikes. However, weather patterns had been disrupted and the dust and particles had been dispersed worldwide. This in turn brought a climate change as the weather was taking a cooler turn and would continue to do so for the next two years. The blessing was that the nuclear radiation wouldn't cause even more difficulties for those most affected by the Colonial strikes and the rate of the cleanup would help return the weather to a more stable pattern.

"The World Wars, Korea, Vietnam, the Falklands, the Balkans and the Gulf conflict; each time that a war has begun that risked the very fabric of our society, men and women have stepped forward to give up their lives to keep safe others that have been threatened. Now for the first time the beliefs and way of lives of the entire world has been collectively threatened by a foreign enemy. Never before has the human race been under such threat by such an intimidating enemy. Yes, we do have enemies out in the vastness of space. A number of them, sentient parasites who believe themselves to be gods, want nothing more than to see us destroyed or turned into slaves because we defied their demands to submit and resisted their attempts to crush us with their power. Others would wish us harm just because they can do so, now we are faced with an enemy that threatens more than the death of our bodies but of our very beings."

"However this enemy is different. It is an enemy that looks like us, acts like us and is in every way that is important is 'us', a fellow race of humans originating from this world, now separated by time and space and thriving hundreds of light years away from their home world. The Colonials have their own version of divine providence and they embrace a religion that claims us as their thirteenth tribe, even though the evidence proves that we cannot in any way be that lost people and in fact that they were once a part of this world taken away, kidnapped by the parasitic Goa'uld to be raised as slaves. We were unwilling to stand down and so without provocation they attacked murdering hundreds of millions of our fellow Earth-born. They destroyed cities and poisoned the atmosphere. More than half a billion people died from the catastrophes caused to by the hatred and arrogance of the Colonial race. We here at this cemetery are not alone in our grief. The Cenotaph in London, the tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Paris, the areas around the craters that were once St Petersburg, and Johannesburg and thousand of boats, ships, ferries and warships surrounding the former Island of Hong Kong, Sydney Harbour, Berlin… Simultaneously, worldwide, hundreds of memorials large and small have risen up to represent those whom we have lost.

Never again will there be a memorial large enough to name every man, woman and child lost in this conflict both on Earth and off world. All we can do is make the attempt to remember them as we can. These structures erected for those defenders lost in the line of service will only be the first. More will be lost before this war is over."

He stopped, struggling with his emotions he looked directly into the lens of the nearest camera. "This conflict should not have begun. None of us wanted to go to war with another race. Almost ten years of conflict with the Goa'uld and their empires have caused misery and loss to this planet and thousands of others and with their threat minimized, for once we believed that Earth was safe, that we could be left alone to grow and mature as a race, striving to find our own destiny. However it seems the lot for our world that we be drawn into conflict time and again against enemies that we don't want to fight but find that we must. We, the people of Earth have discovered a truth long ago and it is as pertinent yesterday as it is today. If we must embrace our freedom and seek our destiny then we must be ever diligent for there are those who would seek to take it away.

"I will not disrespect our lost ones by asking for us to go to war and destroy the Colonies, but neither will I ask for the world as a whole to sit back and simply allow the attack to go unanswered. It will be up to the people of this world to decide on this war. It is true that the IOA has declared war already in agreement between all five of the major members and many of the junior members. Each and every one of our people has been hurt by the Colonies' aggression and others, are unwilling to stand by and do nothing."

The delegates stood stoically as he continued on, remaining still and at attention as their aides moved forward to hand them umbrellas or other rain paraphernalia. While some took the offered comforts, many simply waved them away and sat silently. Few of the assembled men and women surrounding the cemetery looked for shelter from the powerful storm. Those few, mainly the elderly, or the very young, were helped by the guarding IOA soldiers guarding the assembly. Elsewhere across the world tens of millions of people stood at gatherings listening to the impassioned preaching of the American President. Members of the IOA, allied countries, even those unwilling or unable to join the massive multi-nation alliance sat in silence.

"I can't ask for more than has already been given. All I can do is ask that our people, not just Americans, not only the Russians, not simply the British, not Africans only, not exclusively the Chinese, but humans, the race of man, protect each other, to protect themselves and to force our enemies to face us as a united world. We will stand against any threat that may decide to make itself known. We will defend our ways of life as diverse as they are against the horrors that would destroy us." Hayes looked to the assembly of politicians ranking officials, military personnel, civilians and aliens assembled around him. "To you, our defenders and protectors of this world, I stand and say watch over this world and the people that make us who and what we are and may we all live through this day together."

Turning to the massive plinth in the very center of the garden of the fallen, the American president walked up to the Obsidian and Gold structure and placed a wreath trimmed from the trees of the White House and from the gardens of the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington itself on the very front. Above it the Legend USS _Apollo_ stood in large plated letters. The names of the crew of the vessel was joined by that of the crewmen lost aboard each of the warships in the Tau'ri fleet, fighter pilots and navigators took up another side with the last side curiously empty. To his left he was joined at the second of the spires by Generals Hammond and O'Neill, the gold lettering of the obelisk were familiar to both men...

Kowalski, Feretti and Frasier, among hundreds of others. While the records had shown that the SGC had lost the least number of personnel assigned to it, it failed to show the true sacrifices that they had endured. So many other lives had been saved due to the SGC actions against the monsters that threatened them.

Stepping away from the memorial Hayes looked up at the emblazoned and stylised symbol of the Earth Stargate. He took a step backwards, stood at attention and saluted the memorial. The crowd around him military and civilian alike quickly followed his example. In the background a single bugler began to blow. He was joined across the world by pipers and buglers at other memorials in concert as the Last Post reached the eyes and ears of the billions watching the broadcasts.

_**The Cenotaph**_

_**United Kingdom: London**_

After a respectful moments' silence, Prime Minister Murray continued as the telecasts switched to the memorial in London, England. Next to him stood Prince Charles, and Princes William and Harry dressed in full military uniform. Charles looked stressed but his eyes were filled with a defiance and pride that everyone looking at him and his sons around the world couldn't fail but to notice.

"This memorial as it stands is incomplete however," Murray continued. "It is my sincere regret to inform the people of this world that a day ago a combined Earth, Asgard and Colonial fleet left Earth space headed for the outer rim of our own galaxy. An enemy force unlike anything seen before by this world have dispatched two ships in an attempt to invade this galaxy and murder and feed on every human they can. In response to this we as well as our allies and a number of willing volunteers from the Colonial prisoners of war have send ships to stop this threat before it enters this Galaxy.

"Our ships are powerful and we outnumber the enemy, however the enemy fleet is hardier and far more dangerous than anything yet faced by our peoples. If this enemy were to get past by our fleet and into our home space then we will be left to fight them both in space and on the ground. This is why as of midnight Greenwich Mean Time, the ground forces of the United Kingdom will be accelerating training and production of weaponry and munitions. In addition a full recall of all military personnel on leave will begun, a voluntary recall of all discharged personnel will commence as of the same time. Any person having already been a member of the armed forces will be permitted to rejoin at their previous ranks no matter the means of their original discharge."

There were hushed murmurs as the importance of that statement hit home.

"In conference with the joint houses, the military command staff and our allies overseas all military forces will be recalled to maximum level and all troops retrained using the most advanced equipment we have to hand. In addition our elite units will begin cross training with members of the American Homeworld Security and Stargate Command personnel in order to better evaluate our chances against our enemies. I will admit that the memorial of those lost to the enemies of man is not the best place for us to talk about the oncoming forces that threaten the people of our world, but the knowledge that our armed forces are willing even after the major losses taken in recent months to take on any enemy that would destroy us should hearten even those that don't wish for us to go to war."

Murray looked up at the Cenotaph, the original had become the centrepiece of a larger construct to surround her, names of pilots and crewmen lost aboard the _Ajax_ and the ground based fighter squadrons had already been inscribed to the left hand side of the original memorial. It had take a lot of time and effort for the British arm of the IOA Space forces to allow for their people to be added to one of the world's most famous military statures. Unlike the huge black and gold monoliths that now adorned the American Arlington cemetery the simple grey and black façade was almost identical to the weathered stone beside him.

For one hundred years, Britain and by and large her Empire and commonwealth have been at the forefront of wars that have changed the very fabric of our beings. The Great War, the Second World War, the Cold War between the East and the West, each of those conflicts has been responsible for changing who and what we are as a people. Each time we have had to adapt to a new way of thinking in order to survive. Now we have a war involving humans of other worlds, an enemy and force that outnumbers us by almost ten to one in terms of military and economic capability, that has accepted no recourse but to make us surrender to their power and rule. I see this as no different to the wars that have come before. France, Germany, Russia now all stand united with us instead of against us. The people of Earth are for the first time threatened by an invading force from outside, a force that could overwhelm us with numbers and with the pure determination to prove us wrong in our ways. "Every man and woman in this country and within our sphere of influence knows the history of the British people.

For a thousand years we have stood time and again against invasion from overseas. Now we are faced an enemy that are as implacable as any that we have had to face in a millennia. We refused to bow to anyone, be it by sea, by air, by religion, or by conquest and now we refuse to bow down and allow the Colonies to take what is ours by history and by right. The time to fight back is now, we will not accept appeasement, we will not accept an attack on our sovereignty without retaliation and we will not simply walk away from this."

Prince Charles took over. "The IOA drafted and signed the declaration of War against the Colonies only a few days after the murder of millions of our people. Six months have passed since that day and it is my good fortune to inform the world of a measured response against the Colonial fleet and those that perpetrated the heinous act against us. Several days after the first attack, the USAF _Odyssey_ was assigned four intact fighter squadrons including survivors from all five of the major countries of the IOA. An attack was authorised that destroyed the largest Colonial shipyard and supply dump in their space. Almost capital fifty ships and hundreds of fighters were destroyed by our forces in a surprise attack. The damage done was total to the majority of the structures. Furthermore the knock on reactions have led to entire Colonial fleet groups being reassigned away from any possible attack on Earth for the foreseeable future."

"The battle was not without losses. Almost a full squadron of pilots didn't make it back to the _Odyssey_ including one of our own. Flight Lieutenant William Fitzgerald of the Royal Air Force's First Space Combat Squadron sacrificed his aircraft and eventually his life to allow the last remaining few fighters to make it back home. In respect and in memory, Flt Lt Fitzgerald will receive the Victoria Cross and Distinguished Flying Cross. A copy of both awards will be encased and displayed at his home unit of Marham with the originals to be placed at the entryway to the Imperial War Museum in London. It is my hope that the memory of his sacrifice will allow future generations to remember what happened here today and to take pride of place as a landmark in our history."

Prime Minister Murray continued as the Prince stepped back. "In their eyes and in the eyes of every man and woman involved in this war we have been threatened long enough by our enemies. It is people like the Flight Lieutenant and his colleagues in the space forces that refuse to allow Great Britain or its Commonwealth to bow down to the Colonials. Now it's time for us to return the favour, the Colonies had a choice to come to us as friends or as enemies. They chose wrongly and now we'll make sure they will never have the chance to do that again."

"Yes, this attack has been likened to the attack on Taranto or Pearl Harbour, a critical hit at the very beginning of a war that caused the enemy force to pull back and regroup before they could attack again. We don't have the resources or the skilled manpower to take this war to the Colonials 'yet', but in accordance with the Heads of State of the allied countries, production of warships and starfighters are to be increased. National military budgets will be almost wholly dedicated to increasing our space forces and inflated prices of the components needed are to be all but wiped out and the necessary funds diverted to the production of the defence forces and to those that are most in need."

The area around the Cenotaph was silent as this speech began to sink into the minds of the assembled people watching the speech. The war had affected every man and woman on the planet. Even many of those opposed to war or to the proliferation of any weapons into space had ceased campaigning once the truth had come out. There were still those that wished to stop any conflict and even fewer that wanted the people of Earth to give up and surrender the planet their distant brethren from Kobol. For the first time, church, society, politics and the military of entire countries were aligned against an enemy that none had known of and that had been so willing to take what they believed was theirs to rule by force. Millions of people had looked up at the flashes in the sky during the battle, had watched the reports of the aftermath as the Colonials had spat their hate in the shape of nuclear fire, killing millions of people that didn't and couldn't know why they had been targeted or by whom.

Murray stepped up to the Cenotaph running a hand along the side of the stone monument. He had seen it many times before and his hand stopped and traced the lines of the stone construct, his mind going back to his father, a man that had been lost to him before he was born. His eyes unfocussed slightly as he began talking, not from a script, but from his own spirit. "Its funny, for almost twenty years this country like so many others looked around and realised that we had no real threat that could take our way of life. The Cold War had ended, the crises within the Middle East and the Balkans were pinpricks compared to almost two hundred years of war and arms races. Then one day, we look up and find we are not alone. The cost of that discovery was ten years of war and conquest that threatened every one of us simply because we existed. The threat of the Goa'uld and the Replicators died over a year ago thanks to the actions of Stargate Command and our Off-World allies and for once, we were free of threat both within and without. It seems that fate is not one without a sense of humour or a sense of irony. Each time we have been threatened it has been by the creations of or perversions of technology that may have been created long ago by the ancestors of man. Now our enemies are again simply another human culture that hates our own ways and the freedom to express it.

We know that the Colonials won't take the counter attack lying down and one day sooner or later we will have to face them in combat again. Only this time they will be taking on an enemy ready and willing to stand their ground and grind them into dust. It is the intention of myself and President Hayes to cut off any chance of attack before it can get off the ground. For now we need to continue to put Earth and it's defences first but one day and soon we will return to the Colonies and we will show them that they made the biggest mistake in their history when they took on the people of Earth."

Looking up he stepped away from the Cenotaph and looked around him. The silent and sullen crowd had begun to perk up at his words. Shoulders had pulled back and spines had straightened. Civilians and soldiers both watched him in anticipation. This war had begun the same way as every war they had fought for a thousand years. Greed and apathy had run roughshod over the countries of Europe and the national identities that had been the hallmark of the great empires had fallen by the wayside as millions upon millions continued to die for no other reason that someone had decided that they were in the wrong. Now for the first time in a hundred years the powerful countries of the world had a chance to reinvent themselves, not as empires but as allies against an enemy that made their own excesses seem small in comparison. Never had the humans of Earth dedicated themselves so completely to their own freedom as they had now, The memories of the World Wars were still strong in the global psyche reignited by the actions of a very few people and enough for them to believe in themselves once again.

"Our country is a proud country, the wars we have fought for ourselves and to help others prove that. Our very spirit is renowned and we are looked upon by people across the world with a respect that is hard to earn. We will not give in to intimidation, we will not give in to religious intolerance or political tyranny. We will stand as our fathers and grandfathers have done before us, telling our enemies that we will fight'

'Britain is not a perfect country, over the years we have had our problems. Terrorism, Increased violent crime and even religious divides. It is time to stop the bickering. It is time that we unite together not just as the united kingdom but a united people. We need to unite to fight what we have been under pressure from for so long. We fight an enemy that is not so different to what we have already faced in years past. We fight an enemy that wants to control and alter our religious beliefs no matter who you are, an enemy that does not tolerate peoples differences or culture. We fight an enemy that wants to dominate and control our people and persecute those who wish to live lifestyles that are different from theirs. We have faced these kind of people before and we have survived, we have overcome the incredible odds and survived. We will survive now.'

'The United Kingdom of Great Britain and her Commonwealth Realms makes this pledge. Britain is going to fight, we shall fight alongside our allies and our former enemies, this world no longer has the luxury of fighting amongst ourselves. It is our turn as a people as a united world to face the enemy, to stand as tall and as proud as we have ever been. We ask of our allies to support us and aid us in the oncoming storm by working with us and we ask those countries all across the world to set aside their differences and to support each other in repelling the threat to our planet. But most importantly I speak to you, the people of earth, Will you join us? Will you say no to our enemies?'

'Britain will fight. My only question is will you, the people of the world join us?'

Murray stood down from the microphone stands and walked away into the assembly of guards and politicians that stood to the side, by the Cenotaph the crowds lingered to watch others walk towards the stone monument laying wreaths of flowers all around. A muted undercurrent spread from the people surrounding the memorial as people began to speak up. The prime minister's speech had ignited something within the psyche of the British people, around the ceremony thousands of people began to understand a feeling of determination, a feeling of defiance against the Colonials a belief in themselves and their people long since lost to time.

Britain and her Commonwealth were going to fight

The world was going to fight.

After all could they do anything less?


	15. Chapter Fourteen

_**Chapter 14**_

_**Unknown Location**_

_**Picon City Catacombs**_

_**Picon **_

Deep below the surface of the ravaged planet a hidden and reinforced door slammed shut sealing the rooms inside against the outside world. Wrapped in cloaks and an old flight suit stolen from a Colonial fleet barracks the agent stumbled into the largest of the rooms. Pulling out a disc she handed it to the closest computer operator before yanking the hood from her head. Brushing the duct that had got through her coverings, she walked towards the object of the search.

"How's it look up there?" the older man asked.

"Bad, the dust cover is almost total. There's no sunlight, no rain and no life. We'll be lucky to be able to find our way out of here or anywhere else if we have to leave. It's completely black out there. And the windstorms are getting worse by the hour. " She shook more dust from her body. "The last few patrols have been pulled back into protected areas which means we're pretty much alone."

"Anyone left in the city?"

"If there is, I didn't see anyone. Everyone's dead or in hiding."

"Damn," the padre whispered. "But the Information is complete?"

"As far as I can tell, yes. Plans for the area, guard numbers, shift changes, locations of the armouries and the hospital wards, we have it all."

"And the Gremlin strikes again."

"Why do you call him that?" she asked

"What?"

"Gremlin."

"Old children's story," he mused. "The man responsible for this is invisible and damages something when no-ones looking. This thing came off the networks before Caprica city's power grid collapsed and of course, that would have naturally hidden the transmission and the theft." The Padre smiled before turning around. "Alright everyone please gather around, thanks to our friend on Caprica we have the information that we need to fulfil our promise. This is the plan. Platoon three will break through the perimeter and set off a few close range detonations; normal detpacks should do. Keep them guessing. Platoons two and four will break into through the secured route and into the prison cells. Platoon one will watch the infiltration point for any sign of reinforcements."

"This is a hell of a risk Jonathan. We're using almost every able bodied military trained person we have left on this planet," cautioned an older woman standing by his side. "Not to mention what we have left of explosive and munitions."

"I know Sally, I know. It's a choice I've had to make for this. We'll leave behind the rest so if we fail they'll leave the planet like everyone else," he whispered to her. Turning he shouted across the hall. "Jacob, we'll need those detpacks and fresh ammo within the next day. Everyone else make sure you get some rest we leave in thirty six hours."

The congregation dispersed at his words. The caverns deep below the crust of Picon had been renovated into a hidden sanctuary for what had once been hundreds of people. Each had dedicated their lives and resources to the Sanctuary. But now only a few dozen remained. The rest had died out from the illnesses or had been smuggled off-world by sympathetic ship masters. Their very faith was illegal above ground. Their religious beliefs could and would get them killed in this day and age, especially on this planet. For generations the monotheists had been tolerated by the public at large but the war against the 'Heretics' of the Tau'ri and their single god beliefs had led to massive uprisings and attempts to wipe out any monotheist believers anywhere in the Colonies.

Riots had destroyed small villages and conclaves of believers while the priestly leadership of the one god had been brutally beaten in the streets and hung from their own church doors. Thousands had been murdered because of their beliefs and their unwillingness to forsake their god. More had been rounded up by the Colonial Military and Police forces and re-located for their own protection inside a number of thinly concealed camps that were nothing more than prisons. Unknown to them some of those actions were being paralleled by events happening on Earth.

For years, sympathetic organisations and a number of closet monotheists had been pumping supplies, money and equipment through dummy companies to assist with the Underground Railroad. With the arrival or the _Prometheus_ three years ago the entire movement had begun to move into hiding, millions of men and women now hiding in isolated areas of forests, in deep caves, and underground bases all built by the donations and effort of those same people. The Picon catacombs had become the best bet for the Church of One. Thousands had fled into them once the war had begun with more and more arriving daily from other hiding places. The devastation of the planet by the Tau'ri, and the viruses that ravaged their worlds had claimed over half of their people as well as the majority of what was left on the planet since the airlifts had ceased.

More and more people worldwide were slowly succumbing to radiation poisoning despite the massive amounts of supplies of meds that were still regularly dropped around the largest areas that the survivors were congregating. Even at this late point in time, Raptors and marine drop ships were flying around the planet searching for more and more survivors and directing planet-side rescue teams to those most in need. It has seemed that even with the destruction of Picon and the ceasing of airlifts the survivors weren't completely cut off of supplies to those still healthy, and the dying.

"Jonathan."

The older balding clergyman looked up to see a very pretty raven haired woman looking at him, her cat-like eyes lowering as she bowed to him.

"Hello, my child."

"A message from our friend at the ministry," she told him. The pilot's in the infirmary now. He's still under heavy guard but it's going to be a lot easier to break into than the cells now. Plus we've got an agent in the infirmary just waiting for activation." She added.

"Excellent, we'll keep to the timetable for now. Get the signal out to our friends upstairs. We'll need them here ASAP."

"Got it." The rave- haired woman smiled. "We'll be ready, Padre."

"Sally, put together a med team. Our friend is no longer in Corman's hands. We'll need all the help we can get to keep him stable."

A tall blonde across the way nodded her acquiescence.

The former marine non-com turned monotheistic clergyman looked at the mass of bodies readying themselves for a fight that they knew was right and holy. "God forgive us for what we have to do and may the souls of your children ascend into your hands. So say we all."

*****

_**USAF Daedalus.**_

_**Fleet Flagship**_

_**Outer Edge of the Milky Way**_

"Reversion in three... two...one."

The fleet burst from hyperspace into the black void of intergalactic space. High above the galactic rim the seven warships came to a complete stop as their forward moment and less than a second later automatic computer commands activated across the four Allied ships. Shields slammed one all around them while scans began to map the surrounding area. Weapons and defences powered up and sat poised for action. Missile hatches opened while railguns turned in place watching every angle of the fleet. Aboard the Daedalus class ships their recently added heavier energy weapons stayed at standby ready to fire at the first sign of the Wraith.

"No sign of the Wraith, Sir," Marks said. "I think we got here before them. All ships are accounted for. The Battlestars seem to have come through reasonably intact."

"Good," Caldwell replied. "Contact the Asgard, have them...."

"Asgard are hailing us, Sir."

"On screen."

"General Caldwell, we are detecting two Wraith Hive ships on a course heading straight for these co-ordinates. They're currently one hour from termination of this leg of their voyage. We believe that they will drop out within this area of the system, however we can not be certain of this nor can we be sure where they will drop from hyperspace with any certainty To do so would require a much more comprehensive scan, one that the Wraith may be able to pick up on."

"Understood. Secure your long range sensors and power down we don't want them seeing us until we're ready."

"As you wish."

The Asgard Commander faded from view as did the ships on the sensor displays. A quick message to the Odyssey had them power down and activate their own stealth features. Although not as advanced nor as comprehensive as those against the Asgard capital ships, the twin Daedalus class ships could make themselves almost invisible against the background radiation coming from the Milky Way Galaxy.

"Send to Commander Homeworld Security," Caldwell ordered. "Fleet is in position, awaiting enemy contact will advise one battle is concluded. Message ends. Marks, detach the Colonials to point Alpha and have them await further orders."

"Battlestar Group this is Daedalus, proceed to point Alpha and stand by for engagement order."

"This is Dionysius Actual. We're ready. You better be right about this Caldwell, jumping now."

The three Battlestars winked out in a flash of light only to appear again two light years away, their short range but tactically superior FTL drive allowing them to exit the area quickly and cleanly. Only a short term and fading energy reading proved that there had ever been a ship in the area, on the sensor screens the Battlestars faded out slightly as they closed off all emissions.

"Battlestars are in position. All ships are under silent running."

"Good, reduce our own power and ready primary systems for cold start."

"Already working, Sir," Marks responded.

The Daedalus followed her sister ship into darkness as the entire ship secured for Silent Running, all across the warship systems began to shut down as power was cut, the Naquada reactors cutting out completely. Running lights died as the ship's outer sections went cold, environmental systems were rerouted away from the outer hull dropping the skin temperature to the freezing cold of space. Secondary reactors were shut down causing the ship to go completely 'silent'.

Weapons systems across the ship reduced power and closed down cutting off any emissions that may leak out that would allow the Wraith to get a fix on their location. Missiles launchers stood on automatic their hatches opened and the warheads primed. With no radiating emissions and no comms chatter the Tau'ri vessel ship was all but invisible.

"Report."

"All systems shut down commander. Main weapons and shields are primed for cold start, batteries are tied into main power for a quick restart," spoke Marks just as quietly. Intently he watched as the IFF signals from each of the allied vessels finally from view. "We've lost positive lock on the rest of the fleet."

"They know their jobs Major," Caldwell replied. "Keep us in position."

The fleet sat in place as time passed slowly. This battle would be hefty and dangerous to the entire group and although they outnumbered the Hive ships, both of the Wraith vessels could carry dozens of other ships and thousands of fighters. The more accurate Tau'ri AA weapons and the Asgard's advanced tech could overwhelm the tiny and agile fighters. The Colonials would have to be able to fill space with flak hopefully thinning the ranks of Darts that the Wraith would undoubtedly send against them.

A dual flash of light lit up space around them as two Wraith ships entered normal space. Immensely powerful scans reached out across the empty system. The closer of the two Hives ceased their scans and concentrated their entire sensor capacity on one single small area to its port flank.

*****

_**Battlestar Dionysus**_

_**Colonial Support Fleet**_

"By the Gods! What the hell are those?"

"They fit the size and shape of the Wraith schematics the Tau'ri gave us. Reading size at least eleven kilometres long. That thing could dock multiple Battlestars INSIDE her." The XO looked over the modified DRADIS system. "I think they're scanning the area, radiation levels have gone up slightly."

"Reduce DRADIS output. We don't want them to see us."

"Reducing output. If that's the size of their ships, then maybe the Tau'ri were telling the truth. You could fit an entire invasion force inside that thing."

"They may well be telling the truth but I'm still wary about who is the aggressor here. After what they've done to us, the Tau'ri may have done the same to these aliens and are using us as a shield against their enemies."

"If so, why have they sent so many ships with us from their homeworld defences? They only have five to begin with when we surrendered. Wow they have at least two with us."

"That we know of, Colonel. The Tau'ri have never been fully forthcoming about their strength or their history. They may have a lot more that we know of." He paused. "Weapon status?"

"Nukes are primed as are the heavy guns, three to one ratio Lucifer rounds to AP." The Xo paused. "Radiation reading just shot up, the Wraith ships are pumping out a hell of a lot of whatever it is they use to scan with. I think we're a little too far out for them to pick us up easily."

"Nice to know that those new scanners were worth the trouble. Continue with reduced running emissions."

"Aye, Sir."

Seconds later the sides of the Hives erupted.

"Massive wave of targets coming from the enemy ships. Reading hundreds of fighters and a number of cruiser analogues launching from the rear of the vessel." The XO squinted as he continued looking at the screen. "I think they've seen the Tau'ri ships. Enemy ships are forming up in an attack formation."

"Condition One! Open Viper launch doors and remove the safeties from the nukes. I am authorising use of nuclear weapons with immediate effect. All gun crews are to begin bombardment the second we jump, don't wait for orders from CIC," Deacon ordered. "If you get a clean shot begin bombardment with the missile batteries."

"The Wraith have engaged the Tau'ri and Asgard ships."

_**USAF Daedalus**_

_**Assault Fleet Flagship**_

"Two Wraith Hives are in system, they are launching cruisers and Darts. Targeting our ships."

"What?"

"They've seen us," Marks said tersely. "Darts coming in at both us and the Odyssey, both ships are releasing cruisers."

"Shields up, bring all systems online," Caldwell ordered. "All guns take down those Darts."

The Daedalus' upgraded armaments picked up the incoming targets quickly and opening up outside of Dart range, railguns and anti-aircraft missile systems exploded from all sides, raking through the mass of fighters heading their way. Flashes of light enveloped both Dart and missile as some of the Wraith vessels ceased to exist, others managed to use their culling beams to eliminate the deadly projectiles.

Unable to wipe out all of the incoming vessels, the twin Daedalus class ships braced against the inevitable counter attack. Energy pulses were released from the Darts and cruiser coming up slowly behind them. Shields flaring and rippling as the pinpricks of the Dart weapons were added to by the heavier punches of the cruisers. Breaking out of the swarm of fighters the Daedalus and Odyssey accelerated towards the first few cruisers.

Almost instantly their energy weapons began firing. The un-armoured flanks of the bio-ships vaporized as Asgard based weapons simply blew holes into them. Bodies and debris flew into space from the ruined hulls before the inner bulkheads could close sealing the ships against explosive decompression. Taking advantage of the chaos caused by the attack, the Odyssey pumped a pair of missiles through the gap in the Wraith's defences. The mark eight tactical missiles lodged into the ship detonated on impact. The reaction was predictable as the nuclear blast annihilated the entire forward half of the cruiser.

Unable to control the remaining wreckage of the cruiser, the crew of the Wraith ship were forced to watch as the Daedalus slammed their exposed engine core with energy fire detonating the ship and causing a shockwave powerful enough to shake its sister ships. Darts were annihilated in droves as the radioactive debris slammed into the hulls immolating the single man fighters too close to the explosion.

Odyssey took the brunt of the counter attack, two of the cruisers attacked from both flanks peppering the more agile ship with close range fire. Even with its impressive speed the human build warship wasn't able to dodge them all. In quick succession a dozen of the heavier blasts rippled along the ventral hull weakening the shields and causing minor damage to the other hull. Streams of freshly launched Darts dove into the battle heading for the enemy war ships. A few pulses were launched before hundreds of them disappeared in a curtain of light.

A cruiser was surprised by simultaneous fire from above and below. Already shocked at the casual slaughter of hundreds of Wraith the cruiser wasn't ready for the accelerating Asgard warships. _Gungnir_ slammed a rapid series of pulses into the cruiser's massive hull punching through the hull and counter fire did little to nothing against the massively powerful defences of the Beliskner. Fire from the Asgard energy curtain stripped the vessel of both guns and hull armour. Each pass left gaping holes in the Wraith vessel. From those holes spewed out pieces of hull, equipments and bodies as more and more fire was poured into it.

Daedalus banked around the now sporadic fire from the wraith cruiser its shields taking the few hits that managed to impact. The four inch main railguns pumped in salvo after salvo of Lucifer shells through the gaps in the heavy armour and the detonations blasted bulkheads into shrapnel melting or scorching everything in its way.

"Three cruisers dead," Marks reported as their Asgard allies skewered the third of the incoming ships. "No losses to our side."

On the screen the tumbling debris of the destroyed Wraith ships dispersed, Darts and Hives pulled back from the engagement to recover and regroup. They had never seen this kind of ferocity from the humans before. Atlantis had been the only true threat to the dominance of the Wraith on the Pegasus galaxy. Now however, these four ships, two human and another race they didn't recognise were taking apart the smaller vessels in the Hive's fleet.

"The Hives are moving. Both of them are heading straight for us."

"Take us out of the firing line. Ready missiles and pulse cannon."

"Weapons ready."

"Target closest cruisers; see if you can use them for cover."

The Daedalus flipped over its own axis as its immensely powerful engines changed the ship's heading. Passing close by the debris of a destroyed cruiser the railguns and newly refit Phalanx missile launchers filled the sky with shooting stars. The closest Darts didn't stand a chance against the close in weapons fire, entire lines of the agile little ships disappeared in the barrage while missiles picked up the wildly manoeuvring fighters on the outer edges of the formation.

"All ships launch fighters, call in the Battlestars."

"Aye, Sir," Marks replied. "All ships launch fighters. Battlestar group you are clear for jump transmitting jump co-ordinates now."

"Received Daedalus."

A trio of flashes appeared between the two massive Hives. The twin Wraith vessels were taken unawares as all three Colonial vessels appeared from nowhere unloading broadsides into the heavy armoured flanks of the Hives. Armour piercing and high explosive rounds identical to those used ineffectually against the Tau'ri blew holes into the thick chitin-like armour. Pieces of shrapnel larger than Raptors went flying into space as the salvos concentrated their fire as their broadside guns began to rapidly fire their massive versions of the Tau'ri's Lucifer rounds into the broken armour.

White hot fire annihilated mile long stretches of the vessel ripping through reinforced bulkheads and the softer less rigid internals. A second and third salvo accelerated the damage causing the Hives to rock slightly as their systems tried to compensate for the compromised hull across their flanks. Seconds later, the Hives returned fire unleashing bolts of plasma into the thick metallic armour covering the Battlestar flanks. Built to take direct nuclear strikes the Battlestars were no match against the plasma fire. Metal vaporized and bulkheads melted under the immense heat. Crew and equipment alike disappeared turned into their component atoms.

"Direct hit port side," the exec shouted. "We've lost internal contact with most of that pod."

"What in Hades did they hit us with?" Deacon shouted stumbling slightly as a second salvo smashed into his ship.

"Some kind of energy weapons! It's ripping through our hull armour faster than anything I've ever seen. It's completely destroyed the post side Viper tubes and most of the support bays on the topside, the main hull hasn't been compromised but it's only a matter of time!"

"Weapons?"

"Still active on all flanks."

"Reload and continue firing broadsides, ready missile batteries for mass launch and deploy all remaining Vipers. Take down every one of those little bastards."

Cannon fire continued to slam into the sides of the Hives as the Battlestars began to increase their fire. Vipers launched from every bay that was still intact and their cannons blazed into the ranks of Darts swarming over the Battlestars. With the flak cannons dedicated to bombarding the massive Hive ships, the Vipers were backed up by the massed point defence batteries of the Colonial Warships. With another salvo the side armour of the Hive ship gave way allowing the naquada/potassium warheads into the pressurised inner hull. Flares erupted throughout the damaged sections sending debris into the sides of the Colonial ships. Darts and Vipers were destroyed en masse by the explosions as they ripped through the hull. Bioarmor imbedded itself into the metallic sides of the human built ships, shearing through power lines and atmospheric scrubbers, shattering Vipers in their launch tubes and detonating the ammunition stockpiled for the battle.

Cannon fire slackened from the closest Battlestar. Its entire flank was in flames even as it began listing from the damage. Darts that had made it through the barrage of fire and the defensive cordon of the Vipers fired on the exposed structure of the damaged hangers. Another series of explosion smashed through the pods blowing a third of the length off which went spinning into space causing the Battlestar to tilt alarmingly off-axis.

"The _Hephestian_ has been crippled!" Marks called out. "She's got damage across the board! The Odyssey is taking a run at a cruiser. The Asgard ships are going after designate Hive one."

"This is going to take a while. Take us around and lock all weapons on that ship."

Cannon fire erupted from the forward weapons off all four Allied ships. Energy and projectile fire ripped into solid armour blowing chunks through the hull. Plasma cannons slammed into the heavily shielded cruisers shaking the crews inside and causing some internal systems to short out. Flames and sparks appeared from damaged stations forcing crew members to scramble away before they were burned.

The Asgard ships took the Wraith fire in stride as their own more powerful particle weapons slammed into the unshielded Hive ships. The heavy weapons punched through into the delicate internal structures of the monster vessel. Sympathetic explosions continued to break out long after the fire stopped. Damaged and devoid of fighter support the Hive ship was unable to stop the dozen nuclear missiles from the _Daedalus_ and the Battlestar _New Horizon _that tore into them.

Naquada enhanced mark eight missiles penetrated softened armour and exploded with multi-gigaton force within the Hive's bulk. Flames erupted from fissured throughout the ship vaporizing everything in its way. More debris flew into space. Huge slabs of plating almost leapt out and into its fellow, smaller sections peppering the entire allied force most easily dodged by the smaller more agile ships.

"The Battlestars are taking some serious damage. We're reading hull breaches and atmospheric leaks on all three ships." Marks looked up. "Several of the larger pieces are heading for the Hepehestion."

"Get them out of there…"

*****

_**USAF Odyssey**_

_**Daedalus Class**_

The ship rocked as another salvo of plasma burst against the shields. A full half dozen pulses catching the rear sections of the ship pushing it off course slightly ramming it through a cloud of Darts and 302s wiping them from the battlefield in explosive force. Using the spin to their advantage the Odyssey unleashed her new Asgard cannons into the closest Wraith ship. The Hive ship and crew suffered as coherent energy sliced into its aft quarter ripping into the power systems crashing engines and weapons alike.

"Direct hit to enemy ship, they're still moving."

"Order the 302s to take out the field emitters and concentrate all fire on the hyperdrive systems. We don't want them going anywhere."

"302s inbound missiles hot."

"We've got fresh Dart launches, they're blocking the 302s." The screen flickered slightly as six allied icons disappeared from the sensors. , "The 302s failed, sir. All six went of the grid."

Emerson pushed himself out of his chair and stepped over the debris already accumulating on his bridge. The massive tactical boards to the rear were fully active showing the entirety of the battle from the pinpoints of the fighters to the large signatures of the capital ships. For the moment the Allied ships were having it their own way, as the four fast and more advanced Tau'ri and Asgard ships blowing holes through the Wraith ships.

Close by, the trio of Battlestars were taking a hammering. One was aflame as atmosphere gushed from the launch bays the plasma fire igniting the escaping atmosphere thereby scorching the inside of the armoured structure. The insane heat of the plasma melting through the vehicle lifts and Viper tubes sealed them shut and twisting the very structure of each making them useless. It was only the burning of the atmosphere within that saved the gun batteries and the rest of the hull from destruction as the heat dissipated before it smashed into the ammunition bunkers.

"Break us off and take us around and underneath. Target weapons banks with the energy weapons, anything else is free game. Have all surviving 302s regroup and cover the Battlestars."

Odyssey broke from her course rotating along her own axis. Railguns slashed into the thick skin of the Hive ship with a missile follow up. The warheads created miniature novas as the naquada warheads blew through and into the already crippled ship. Asgard energy weapons lanced out either sealing weapons ports or blowing them apart sending shrapnel into the ether. Bolt after bolt collided against the Odyssey's shields as they flew along the length of the Wraith ship. Fiery red explosions were evident across the hull as Lucifer rounds found pockets of oxygen, thereby burning the ship from the inside out. Sympathetic explosions raged inside the ship. Increasing pressure on the compressed atmosphere bulged the armor outwards as the inner sections were turned into ionised matter. With a belch the entire flank exploded outwards releasing plasma and solid debris into space. The entire ship lurched to the side as the release acted like a massive engine sending it careening out of control the entire ship simply disintegrating as she spun.

"Get us out of here now!" Emerson shouted.

The helm officer hammered his controls sending the agile warship away from the Hive. With a final shudder the Hive gave way under the bombardment. The eruptions consumed the majority of the ship sending what remained of the ship's armoured hull into the darkness of space.

"Incoming debris. It's heading for the Battlestar"

"Range."

"Too close. She can't get out of the way."

"Get us between them."

"Shields are down to less than fifty percent."

"We'll survive the hit, they won't." Emerson slammed his hand onto the chair arm, "All hands this is the Captain. Brace for impact."

****

"Sir the Odyssey."

A piece of hull close to half the size of a Battlestar's own flight pod propelled itself directly at the '_head'_ of the Battlestar. Crippled and almost stationary in space, the Battlestar couldn't avoid being be hit by the Hive hull shard at full force. Seconds before impact the Battlestar's massive engines lit blazing at full power. The hull fragment already too close to the Battlestar for safety, was pushed away as the Odyssey physically intercepted the armor shard.

Shields already on the edge of failing collapsed completely due to the stress of forcing the hull piece away from the Battlestar. Smaller pieces of Wraith armour imbedding itself into the underside of the Daedalus class ship. The Odyssey was whipped around by the collision. Eruptions from power conduits blanketed the ship as the shield energy fed back into the power systems tripping every fuse and safety system on the starship in the process.

Safe and secure the Battlestar was able to pull away escorted by the _New Horizon. _Damaged and drifting, theOdyssey was unable to move away from the exploding Hive. Vipers and Darts slammed down on throttles and accelerated away from the rapidly disintegrating ship. With a final collapse of its bulkheads the ship crumpled into itself detonating its fuel reserves and becoming a brief star encompassing the already tumbling Odyssey.

"Christ, what the hell were you thinking, Emerson?"

"Sir, they deflected the armoured shard completely the Battlestar is moving off." Marks reported "The Odyssey's still there Sir she's pretty well cooked but she's intact, main weapons and shields are down so is the hyperdrive. I think most of her major systems are completely disabled."

The burn darkened hull of the Daedalus made her almost indistinguishable from the space around her. Amazingly a number of the defence railguns were still shredding masses of Darts while its few remaining emergency thrusters brought the ship to an even keel. Slowly but surely, they could see it make its way from the battlefield towards the damaged Battlestar and its escort, the _New Horizon_'s own Raptors headed towards the Daedalus class to tow it in beside the slowly moving the Colonial vessels. Vipers spun around the Daedalus picking off the few Darts that the railguns missed, the rest having already been wiped out by the explosion of the first Ship.

"Second Hive ship is accelerating. The last cruiser is taking the Asgard ships on."

"Where's the last Battlestar?"

"Coming up from behind the cruiser. Reading massive explosions on their ventral hull. Sir, it's going to ram!"

"What?"

"Their drives are wide open, fuel pumps are running three hundred percent already. It's a suicide run alright. Their hull's already massively compromised and I'm reading Vipers, Raptors even a few shuttles leaving the rear bays."

"Contact the Dionysus now!"

"I don't think they can here us sir, most of the forward sections been slagged by Wraith fire. But someone on board I'm still reading railgun fire and missile launches at the cruiser. Impact in six seconds."

"Sir, the Wraith ship is trying to manoeuvre out the way" the second scanner officer replied. "It's not enough."

A final pair of Raptors were belched from of the rear of the Battlestar.

A second later four million tons of metal slammed into the flank of the Wraith ship. Unable to prevent the collision, the cruiser shuddered and then split in half as the Colonial vessel simply blew through the already damaged vessel sending the two sections spinning into space. The flaming wreckage of the Battlestar continuing on into space uncontrolled and all but destroyed.

"My God."

"Sir, the Hive ship is powering its hyperdrive systems. The Asgard ships haven't got the firepower to stop her. Darts are blocking any attempt to disable the drive emitters."

"All power to main guns. Launch whatever we've got left in the missile bays!"

"Firing."

Twenty missiles erupted from the upper missile bays heading directly for the Hive ship. Railgun fire from the heavy guns pounded the undamaged armour in the Hive ship's underside softening the area to allow the missile to breach. Finally a single Asgard built pulse cannon opened up from the underside of the Daedalus. Installed as part of her latest refit she like her sisters had been upgraded to take on multiple Battlestars or Wraith Cruisers.

Lances of particle fire slammed into the Hive blowing through the hull and annihilating any Dart that was unfortunate to get in its way. With the majority of the 302s dead or protecting the damaged ships of the fleet the Darts had begun to swarm the Daedalus and the Hive, picking off missiles and fighters still in the game. Already the Daedalus had been hit by more than a score of Kamikaze Darts in an attempt to stop the assault on their mother ship. Even more had intercepted what fire could be sent against the Hive.

Two of the missiles made it through to impact on the softened chitin of the outer hull. Sections were blown off and more Wraith crew were killed in addition to causing damage throughout the lower hull from the tip of the Hive through to the mid section. Almost a tenth of the Hive's structure collapsed. Compromised bulkheads were blown through the other side of the massive ship into the void. High above the Asgard were overloading their own energy systems pouring as much fire into the massive ship as they could while ignoring the Darts except for a quick use of GSD weaponry to wipe them from space.

"Asgard ships this is Caldwell, focus your fire on their power core and hyperdrive systems."

"Acknowledged."

"The hull armour around the hyperdrive is massively powerful Sir; I don't think we'll be able to stop her before she manages to jump out." Novak said across the communications grid, "But I'm getting something from the damaged section…. Human life signs but fading fast."

"Can you get them out of there?"

"Yes Sir, I'm trying."

"Beam them straight to the infirmary once you can."

"Aye Sir, Novak Out."

Novak's hands spun across the computer controlling power distribution into the advanced sensors of the warship focussing on the twenty or so weak human life signs. With a jolt from a hit, the ship jumped and her hand accidentally slammed on the override instead. The sounds of weapons fire diminished as the power surging from the massive naquada generators were redirected to the main scanner array.

"Uh-oh," she whispered before looking at the screen, the life signs scanners had a lock and had automatically begun beaming them to the infirmary. "Well that's not so bad." Novak muttered softly before she started hammering the console again trying to redirect power back to the tactical systems – without success. "Caldwell's going to be so pissed."

****

"What the hell just happened?"

"Power to the main guns have been channelled elsewhere. We're down to defence guns only."

"Where to?"

"Main scanners and computer core. Plus, I think it also went into the beaming system," Marks replied. "We've got another twenty people on board in the infirmary."

"Caldwell to Novak, what the hell did you do?"

"This is Novak. Umm, I saved the people like you asked, Sir."

"By removing all our offensive capability in one go?"

"That I didn't mean to do, Sir. I hit the wrong panel when we took a hit."

On the main readouts dozens of Darts streamed towards the Hive ship screeching into the still active hanger bays undeterred by the few 302s and Colonial Vipers that were still assaulting the massive ship. A few flashes of light appeared as opportunist Wraith pilots picked out the crews of the fighters from their cockpits or life pods for use later. The Wraith ship's power systems lit up.

"Sir, the Hive's changing course, her hyperdrives powered…. She's gone."

Silence filled the room and the ship's weapons ceased firing while the crew stared out the forward windows to the empty space where the Hive had been. The fleet had been sent to stop the Wraith. Now more than half were dead or disabled; thousand dead for the destruction of a Hive and its cruisers. Now a single damaged Hive had broken through the blockade and had the co-ordinates to the Earth and its almost helpless populations…

They had failed.

"Contact the Crucible and let them know that the Wraith have broken through. One Hive ship is still incoming. Will advise ETA for our return as soon as we can."

"It'll be a while before can get there, Sir."

"It will, major. Yes it will."

****

_**Planet 'Helo'**_

_**Colonial Expansion Zone**_

_**Cyrannus Sector**_

"They are unaware of our presence Prime."

"The information garnered was sufficient. Are the phalanxes in position?"

"They are."

The Prime gestured to the side. "Then we begin."

A horn blew across the encampment causing the Colonials to jump catching them completely off guard. Thousands of bolts of energy fired by Jaffa flew from the trees impacting men and women on all sides. Colonial soldiers went down their body armour and helmets having no effect against the high temperature plasma raining down on them. The bolts were followed by large globes rolling towards them or flying through the air into their perimeter. Explosions of light and heat wiped out entire stretches of the defensive set up annihilating gun crews and pilots alike.

From behind the trees hundreds of Jaffa warrior spread out like a human wave. Their staff weapon attack smashed into disoriented Colonial forces. Weapons stockpile exploded under the onslaught as staff blasts cooked off ammunition. A hail of fire from a handful of Staff cannons entered the battle shattering APCs and light vehicles sending shrapnel into the assembled Colonial soldiers. In less than a quarter hour, the Colonials were surrounded. Outclassed but defiant, they fired back into the massed Jaffa ranks. It was all but useless against the heavy armour of the unknown assailants.

From time to time a heavy round would explode on the front armour of a Jaffa killing him instantly. A few armour piercing rounds would find a target here or there with the Jaffa injured or dead but for every one lost more and more Colonials fail.

"Yes, we're under godsdamned attack! We need air support now! Scramble everything we've got," Grant screamed into the comms. Gunfire echoed around him as the Jaffa closed on the flank of his HQ tent. "Can you hear me... frakking radio!"

Another explosion signalled the death of the closest machine gun position. The three men inside were pulped as another of those monstrous grenades was hurled by the armoured hulks around them. The chatter of automatic weapons began to dwindle as the defences crumbled against the onslaught. A truly huge rumble shook the area as the single row of three Raptors still parked alongside went up in sympathetic detonation. Their destruction blew the entire side of the command structure apart sending shards of plastic and stone into the bodies of the closest Colonials.

Now open to the elements, Colonel Grant could see the devastation that had hit his unprepared forces. The survivors were pushed back into a rough circle behind barricades made of overturned vehicles, crates of supplies and collapsed structures.

"Jaffa, kree!" a voice shouted, fire slackened off and then stopped. "I will talk to your leader now."

"What are you?" a voice shouted.

"I am Tar'kat, First Prime of your God Charon. Your forces are surrounded and outgunned. Surrender and we will allow the rest of your people to live. If you do not do so, then we will destroy every one of your people and take your ships for ourselves."

"So either way we're frakked. Screw you, you tin plated poser." A burst of fire slammed into the ground next to the Jaffa.

Smirking, the First Prime looked up at the survivors of the Colonial forces. "That is your choice."

"Hold your fire." A commanding voice piped up from the half destroyed central building, carefully walking over the crumbling ruins of the destroyed wall he walked up behind a defensive post still intact if slightly burnt. "I'm in change here, First Prime."

"We are aware of you, Colonel-Grant. Some of your patrols were most forthcoming with the information that we needed. Your arrival and attempt to loot our god's tomb meant that we could not allow for you to succeed. Now that you have been stopped, you will also assist us with leaving this world and returning to our own."

"You're crazy! Your attack killed most of my men and expect us to help you?"

"Yes, you will."

"I should shoot you where you stand."

"If you do my men will destroy what is left of your own and you will help us by force if I so deem it necessary. You are surrounded by more than a thousand of the finest warriors in the galaxy. This fact will lead to you supplication one way or another. You can make this choice freely or not."

"Frak you. One word and I can have this entire area pulverised and none of you will get off this planet."

"If that is your answer…"

Bursts of blue lightning lanced from the tree lines and from behind cover slamming into the Colonial soldiers sent the majority of the survivors to the floor. Those that could fire back or tried to run were be cut down by staff fire or in hand-to-hand with the far stronger and numerous Jaffa warriors. Within moments only a very few Colonials were still awake most surrendering without any more of a fight.

"Your men are dead or taken prisoner Colonel. However those of you that are still intact will now have your chance to serve your new god." Tar'kat forced the man to his knees. "You have been given the honour to become the first of your people to host that which is your god."

An older Jaffa walked up to the First Prime. His chest plate had been removed and the jerkin below already cut off of his body. Dropping his head he bowed to the First Prime and offered up the mature parasite within his stomach. The larvae had matured within the last few weeks and were on the verge of being forced to take its Jaffa as a host. All around him, other Jaffa also within weeks or months of the parasites becoming mature were standing next to captive Colonials.

Removing the snake-like creature from his ally's pouch the Jaffa lay the Goa'uld onto the back of the Colonel's neck. With a lunge it entered the Colonial's neck with a messy and disturbing crunch. Grant screamed as he felt it burrow its way into his body wrapping around his brain stem and latching on tight. The screaming stopped as he felt every one of his senses being taken over piece by piece. His entire voluntary nervous system slipped from his grasp as his body began to move of its own accord, within seconds his body stood up against his will causing him to rail against whatever was taking him over.

"I am Hak'an," his voice said, am echoing overtone distorting the commanding tone he used against his inferiors. "As of now I am your God."

Tar'kat dropped to a knee in supplication and offered up his staff weapon to the newly born Goa'uld. Taking the weapon from the loyal Jaffa, the self-proclaimed deity deigned for his new First Prime to rise in front of him.

"You have done well First Prime, as have your brothers. This host will be of use until we have left this world," Hak'an said. "Continue with your plan, I shall be otherwise engaged for the moment."

"I hear and I obey, My Lord."

All around the camp more and more Jaffa approached from beyond the trees. A chorus of screams and cackles came from the groups as the first phase of the plan to leave this world came to absolute fruition.

_**Homeworld Security Command Centre**_

_**Nevada**_

"With the lack of trinium eased by trade with the Hebridans, the Jaffa full scale production on the already partially completed ships can be continued. More than a dozen more will start production within the next month or so," Colonel Davis continued. Then Carter stared at the General with 'that look'. "The biggest problem is the Asgard, their response to our requests to refit the entire line of Daedalus class with pulse cannons as been turned down flat."

"I'm not surprise," O'Neill replied. "The fact we've saved their bony little grey asses a half dozen times seems to pass by their council so we're lucky that Thor has a mischievous streak a mile wide."

"He does?"

"Spend some time with him you'll figure it out. So what have we got to replace them?"

"That's the lucky thing, sir. We've got a fully functional plasma cannon prototype under testing at Area 51. By the time the _Phoenix, Sun Tzu_ and _Achilles_ are operational they should be ready for installation. In addition the railguns have been upgraded and a larger calibre will also be ready for spinal installation on the second flight redesign."

"Felger again?"

"Yeah." Carter smiled gently. "Since he got the Plasma weapon running he's been on a roll, two weapons designs and a few provisional defences for planetary use as well as a ship design that's been modified as we speak."

"Star Destroyer?"

"Close enough," Carter grinned. "The first few sets of defence railguns have been delivered to Area 51, Stargate Command, the Crucible, and Houdini Command. With luck we should have the major capitals of the world completely defended within the next six to ten weeks, with a few more Houdini systems in place around major military construction yards as well."

Davis looked up. "I authorised a few requests for the expansion and development of the Ancient facilities in Antarctica but we've come across yet another problem. The IOA have received demands that the control be turned over to an international group in order to keep it out of American only hands. With the treaties banning the militarization of that continent it is being considered as an act of hostility to the other signatories of said treaties, however the Russians and the British have already backed the current control by the IOA."

"Who's leading the charge this time?"

"Chinese and a number of the European countries not signed onto the IOA itself," he replied. "They are demanding that they be allowed to put a team in place as well to study and determine the use of the weapons chair against any enemies that might attack the planet. They've made this claiming that the fact that the British have the Houdini system and the United States has the majority of the fleet in its command. Then there's the fact almost all of the defensive capability we're churning out is being concentrated on western allied territories."

"I had a feeling we'd see this. How long to put the transfer into progress?"

"The plan is already there, two days to have the C-130 in position at Mcmurdo and two more to have the chair moved back. Say a full week to have the chair installed in the lower levels of this base." Carter explained. "I hesitate to use the Asgard beaming or transport rings on it as we don't know what the effect might be. We don't know nearly enough of its technical make up to even hazard a guess."

"But we can move it right?"

"Yes we can move it. The information gathered from the Orion, the Aurora and the Atlantis chair by McKay and Zelenka points to it still being active as long as it stays within the Earth's sphere." Sam rubbed her eyes. "The chair's going to be moved but the major problem as always will be the fact the actual weapons are still in the caverns below the surface. We've only been down there a few times. The Chinese and whoever else gets involved will still demand a look at them as well as who they are used against. Moving the chair won't mean a thing in the long run even if it suits the politicians."

"I'm getting fed up with this," complained Jack in a tone that expressed exactly how he felt. "Paul, I want you to make any headway you can with the countries already involved in this, see if we can placate them at all without giving away anything that might come round and bite us on the ass later."

"I'll try, General."

"Alright. Anything new from the SGC?"

"Nothing yet Sir. Most of our allies are still coming to terms with the fall of the System lords to assist us in what they believe is a purely Earth matter. A few are offering increased trade to help us with the humanitarian efforts in Africa, Hong Kong and the Med, however even their willingness to support us in regards to the IOA the Russians however still won't admit to needing help with the clean up around St Petersburg."

Jack sighed. "Great, more cold war bullshit still gumming up the works. Give the go ahead to accelerate production of the Daedalus class as quickly as possible but do not and I repeat, _do not_ take any unnecessary personnel from the other production lines. We need the 302s and Apollos out as fast as we can build 'em."

"That's the good news, General," Davis said. "The 302s have begun full scale completion of their weapons systems and avionics. We'll have more than two hundred ready for combat within the week. Boeing and BAE have also completed the new production lines at their classified facilities. With luck that should increase our output to three times that we had over recent months. Flight two refits have been incorporated and the SGC have almost completed specs for the third generation upgrades. The first flight of Apollos have all launched and the next group are already under construction. But the IOA are clamouring again for a more powerful vessel than the Daedalus class."

"And you told them no?"

"Yes Sir. However the delegation decided that I wasn't qualified to tell them that and are going directly to the heads of the IOA instead."

O'Neill grimaced. "Damn, they won't let this one go not like the orbital station."

"The Alpha Site could be expanded into another shipyard with some help from the Tok'ra and the Asgard transporters on the Daedalus," Carter said. "We could have the entire area excavated in a few days with construction to begin as soon as we can get a few more construction battalions trained up with our new equipment. The plans can be drawn up almost immediately and what's more it will give us a second front if we need it against the Colonials the next time they make a raid. The Alpha Site is much further away than Earth is and they have no idea which way we would come from."

"Do we have the personnel to make these feasible?"

"To an extent, sir. In order to make the Alpha Site an offworld command centre we'll need a full multinational force much like Atlantis has and at least half of the staff can come from the former Stargate Complex in Russia. With them in place the rest will simply need some retraining and experience in Stargate operations. The rest can be transferred as and when necessary from the training facilities in Australia."

"And even if it takes time to build the site it'll throw a bone to the naysayers and that will let us get on with actually building up our own forces, " O'Neill grinned. "And when we need it we'll have a partially completed shipyard that just needs some finishing touches. I'll cut the orders. We'll build the shipyards and transfer the personnel as we get the resources."

"There is a last point of interest, sir. An Apollo on shakedown managed to do a flyby of both of the Tollan homeworlds. There were immense amounts of naquada and trinium on both planets. The destruction of both worlds has left a lot of heavy debris rich in both materials as well as some relatively intact technology. While we don't have the ships nor the carrying capacity yet to make use of this intelligence. We might be able to make use of the incomplete Prometheus hulls. We can seal the up secure enough to carry enough personnel and equipment to mine and recover what remains of the Tollan civilisation."

"That's risking both the ships and the defence of this world if we do."

"The short terms risks are far outweighed by the possibility of getting massive amounts of necessary materials to expand the fleet as and when necessary," countered Carter retorted. "With escort by the Daedalus' and Apollos we would be able to drop off the entire group and return to earth inside of twelve hours or so."

"No sign of any Goa'uld or Jaffa patrols in the area?"

"None yet," Carter replied. "There's quite a bit of evidence that the planet has been picked at by scavengers possibly Lucian Alliance ships and other Goa'uld system lords after Anubis was through with them. With your permission we'll dispatch an Apollo to each planet to watch over them. We'll dispatch a few SG teams and scientists with them to check the surface as well to check over what we've found to date with the preliminaries from the Apollo's."

"Again, I'll have to put in my objections to this, Sir," Davis put in. "If the Colonials don't attack we run the risk of the remaining system lords or an attack by the numerous others we've seemed to have annoyed in the last ten years. Then we have the major problem of defending an offworld settlement like Tollana without completely stripping the home fleet of what remains of its intact ships."

"So without the planet we can't get the resources needed to defend this planet and if we do we don't have the resources we need to defend this planet. Great… just a decision I really don't need right now."

"Shipyards, mining facilities, grave robbing and Wraith attacks: is there any chance of a week when I'm not up to my neck in trying to find the funding for this stuff?"

"Not that I know of, Sir," Davis responded.

_*General O'Neill to Command, Colonel Davis to Command*_

"Thank you so much for that, Davis."

"That's what I'm here for, Sir."

*****

_**Supply Station Luxor**_

_**Colonial Supply Station**_

_**One jump from Colonial Border**_

"Bill, you might want to see this."

Commander William Adama looked up from his reports. Since the dispatch of most of the survivor fleet to the Colonies the paperwork required to keep the station and its forces under his command had tripled. While a number of Admirals had protested his actions, the Joint Chiefs had kept him at his post and followed it up with a communication that he would be expected to hold his position and to defend it against any incursion until a new Commanding officer could be dispatched to take charge.

In the few weeks since he had been in command, the fleet had been all but isolated despite continuous needed repairs required to get the warships and troop vessels and masses of crews and troops home.

"Official communication straight from the office of Admiral Corman," Tigh grunted as he handed over a sealed envelope. "What the hell does that stuck up medal polishing frakwit want now?"

Adama ripped open the envelope scanning the contents with a glance. Reading it a second time, he dropped the letter to the table before dropping into his chair.

"Damn stupid little frakker," he spat. "Apparently we have another mission to run ASAP. We're going back to the Earth's solar system."

"What!?"

"You heard right. We're to pick up of a half dozen probes left behind by the fleet before we jumped in the first time. We're to send the Valkyrie and any Stealthstars that we have left to pick them up and return to Intel Command on Caprica." He shook his head. "One ship and a few unarmed fighters verses the gods know how many defences?"

"He wants us dead." That was the only conclusion Tigh could think of hearing orders lake that.

"I'm not going. I'm to turn over the ship to Anders with you as XO and dispatch you on this mission within the next twelve hours."

"Frak, its suicide."

"It's suicide, but its still orders."

"Orders? What the hell are you talking about orders? We got our asses handed to us by six ships. With one ship we'll be dead in seconds!"

"I know and that's why I'm stripping her of all but necessary personnel before we send them anywhere. Those that go will be a volunteer crew only. We can't afford to lose her at all not with the amount of people we have on this station. We lose her we lose another ship to get us out of here. If they try to order us again and I'll tell them not only we can't but we won't send any more ships until or unless we can get a hell of a lot more support out here."

"Corman won't take that lightly."

"Corman can get frakked. We don't have the luxury of choosing to send people or ships to raid the Tau'ri again and again. I'm wary about sending the Valkyrie even with these gods-damned orders." Adama slapped the papers onto his desk. "I want you to retrieve Anders and have her sent to the Valkyrie. As of this moment, I'm granting her unconditional leave from her imprisonment until her return from this mission."

"You really want to piss off the brass don't you?"

"The brass are dragging their heels to stop us getting everyone back to the Colonies for some frakked up reason or another. We've heard nothing back about the fleet or about any reinforcements to hold or evacuate this base. As far as I'm concerned my orders here are to be followed, the Brass have a problem then they will have to send someone to talk this through."

"And with that an opening," Tigh sniggered, "You'll get a medal, or shot for disobeying orders once this is over."

"Once this is over we'll either be heroes or we'll be dead already. I've got frak all to lose."

"Right you are. When do we leave?"

"As soon as the ship's been rearmed and crewed. I've stripped out the flight wings and anyone else that can be spared. It might be a one way mission, but then it might not. The only people I'm willing to spare will be going. I'm not ordering you to go Saul but I figured that they needed one of us there."

"And at the moment I'm most expendable." The balding man looked at his oldest friend. "I can read between the lines Bill. One familiar with the ship and its crew has to go. Anders is a decent commander but she's a desk jockey. She never even made it to XO of a warship and I have."

"As I said..."

"Frak it. Even if you weren't asking me to I'd still volunteer anyway. She's my ship and I'm sure as hell not allowing her anywhere without my supervision."

"You never cease to amaze me, Saul. I'm keep Bulldog and Squire on board for the Stealthstars. Both will be briefed on this, but I'm modifying your orders. If either of the fighters are detected you get out immediately with or without the probes."

"We're risking the Tau'ri finding out about the Stealthstars and the probes we left behind if we leave them, you know that."

"This entire mission is a waste of time. I'm more than convinced the Tau'ri could detect our probes and ships well beyond our own range. We can barely read their ships at close range let alone at maximum." The old man sighed. "If it comes to it Tigh, I'm going to abandon this position and return to the Colonies. If you're more than twenty five hours late, I'm going to authorise the total evacuation of everyone we can. Anyone left behind will be left behind for good."

"I can see Command being just fine about that," Tigh remarked. "The more of us that return the less chance they have of shutting us all up about how we got our asses handed to us. Gods know where the rest of the fleet has been stashed since they got back."

"No doubt about that Saul. The few ships we've sent as couriers haven't returned. No information has been forthcoming from Command."

"There's been grumblings in the fleet. With your orders to keep the Picon situation quiet people are starting to question what's going and why they are being kept out of the loop on this," Saul said. "It might be an idea to inform them of the truth of what's happened. Rumours are starting to spread and the rumours are far worse than the reality is."

"How many Piconese are in the fleet?"

"Not many. The majority were on the ships already sent back. They would have seen the devastation first hand," he sighed. "We hoped that they could be sent back to the planet en-masse and then the ships could be sent back to pick up the rest of the survivors, when they didn't return...."

"Understood, I'll decide on what to tell them when I have the chance. But for now head for the Valkyrie. I'll get Anders instead she should be briefed personally on this mission and not through second hand."

"On my way."

*****

_**Level 20**_

_**Crucible Command Center**_

Two levels above the General's Office, the Crucible's command center was buzzing with activity. The already fully staffed room was all but choked with people as the alert light shifted to DEFCON Two. O'Neill, Davis and Carter walked out of the elevator and straight into the cacophony of voices and alerts ringing throughout the room.

Seconds later a voice rose up above the noise with a scream of 'General on the Deck.'

It was enough, the dozens of military personnel moved to attention while the civilians simply stood up acknowledging the arrival of the C in C.

"Report."

"Sir, communications have been established with the Daedalus. General Caldwell is on the emergency channel."

"Emergency Channel?"

"Yes Sir," Carter replied. "There's a secondary communications system that's not attached to any of the main systems for emergency use, only to be used if normal communications are dead."

"Put it on, Sgt."

_Black Knight this is Flying Wing, come in Black Knight."_

"We read you three by four, Flying Wing."

"This is Flying wing reporting, the Wraith got past us. One Hive and the majority of cruisers have been destroyed with their Dart losses in the hundreds. The second Hive was heavily damaged but we couldn't stop it even with the Asgard's help. We just didn't have the firepower to take her down."

"Shit, how bad was it?"

"Bad, sir. We're down to three ships combat effective with one destroyed and three more disabled including the Odyssey. F302 Losses are almost total and all missiles have been expended. The Hive is damaged but still operational, if it gets to Earth it'll bypass our remaining mobile defences with ease."

"Understood, we'll be ready," O'Neill replied. "How long until the surviving ships are ready to move out?"

"We're still checking the ship for damage, but the Asgard ships and the New Horizon are ready for the jump."

"What about the Odyssey?"

"She's dead in the Water, everything's down except Life Support and point defences. Doctor McKay's staying behind to get them up and running as soon as possible. We've left as many spares personnel as we can get away with."

"You found them both?"

"Yes sir, we beamed across a few dozen humans we found aboard the Wraith ship. A few are badly injured or comatose. We'll be bringing them home with us. We'll be back before the Wraith are, sir. We'll be there."

"I'll hold you to that, General."

"Flying Wing, out."

Silence rang through the Command Center as the news of the Fleet's failure to stop the Wraith ships hit them full force. Almost everything that was available had been thrown against the two huge behemoths. All that remained was the small fleet of Apollos and the Ajax currently orbiting high the Earth.

"Damn it!" O'Neill shouted. "Donaldson, I want all Homeworld Security outposts on full alert immediately. Inform all commands that the Wraith are inbound, one Hive ship possible Dart and cruiser escorts. Henderson get the SGC on the line and have them dispatch a team to Cimmeria, we're going to need back up and damn quickly. Colonel Davis head to Cheyenne and co-ordinate there, I might need you to jump on the Jaffa for a few ships. Their heads are on the line as well if the Wraith gets through. Carter, head for the Antarctic. I want that outpost ready to go if we need it. I don't want it to crap out on us like it did last time. If those countries really want the chair moved then they'll have to wait!"

A chorus of 'Ayes' swept around the command center as the staff got to work. Point to point transports made things quicker. Thanks to the Ajax, Davis and Carter were already on their way to their assigned posts while Jack O'Neill sat back at his desk checking over reports and the feasibility of getting a co-ordinated defence in position. The IOA had finally released the funds and personnel needed to begin full scale construction of the fleet but the delay caused by politics and supply shortages had lessened the impact of the decision. It had been almost six months since the attack on the Earth by the Colonies and yet there was no new capital ships in orbit and barely any defences outside of the few OSATS and patrol ships.

Against an attack from the Colonials they would be holding their own, but against a Hive ship they would be cannon fodder. The planet-wide construction and training of the first wave of pilots was incomplete as were the prototype heavy torpedoes being fitted to the Korolev in place of their usual lower missile launchers.

"Comms put me through to White Bishop." Jack tapped at his console for a few moments while he waited for the acknowledgment and the channel through to the shipyards. "Frank, are you there?"

"Right here. Jack. I wondered how long it would take for you to call me."

"You know the drill, what have you got?"

"Everything is in space we've got completed, how long until the Wraith arrive?"

"Three days if we're lucky."

"I can have the Korolev sealed up and ready to go but forget any fighter carrying or missile bays, they won't be ready for another five days."

"You said seventeen days Frank. That was fifteen days ago."

"Shit happens, Jack. I've had teams going over these ships twenty-four seven and we're finding problems that should have been found with a proper shakedown. We're lucky it's only the Korolev and not the entire fleet. We'll have her up top by the time the Wraith arrive but we're risking losing her," The other General replied. "Good news is that we can get the entire fighter fleet rushed into service in three days since the major part of what's left is zeroing the weapons and a full flight check, plus loading fuel and consumables. After that we just need pilots and back seaters."

"I'll get as many crews as I can together and get them to their bases. You concentrate on getting them their birds. Requisition ever missile and cannon round you need from anywhere in the IOA. I'm releasing the Ajax to assist you with immediate transport if and when you need it."

"Thanks Jack, that's gonna make this a hell of a lot easier," Frank replied. "If that Colonel Carter of yours is up there we could do with her in the shipyards, might get the Korolev up and running faster."

"Carter's on her way to the Outpost. If she's available after rechecking everything I'll send her your way."

"Thanks, wish us luck, General. This is gonna get close."

"Will do, Black Knight Out."


	16. Interlude

_**Colonial broadcasting company**_

_**Caprica City, Caprica**_

"You're on in fifteen minutes, Mister President."

"Thank you," answered Adar. The young aide looked almost giddy being in his presence. "I'll be ready," he said and then flashed his best smile, one that he had perfected over the years.

Gods, he hated the press. But right now he was needed to be seen by the people out in the open, giving them confidence in the power of the government. The entire war was threatening to fall apart and his advisors were all in agreement – the people needed to seem him, hear him speak, let them know that he cared for them and most importantly that he was strong and in charge. Things were going to change. No more hiding – not if they were going to win this war.

The summary report Adar had just read made that explicit. It wasn't encouraging. The military was shaky and the Tau'ri seemed invulnerable, not that they were, not by a long shot. But, as he knew so well, image was everything and sometimes the perception alone could defeat a nation.

The resources, all of those lives, all gone now. His nation was reeling simply because a single little world hadn't become part of the family as they were supposed to. If they had simply allowed themselves to be brought to heel then all this could have been avoided. But they had fought back, viciously and they defeated the Colonial fleet, something that even a Cylon armada would have been hard-pressed to do. It should have been over but against all common sense they declared war on their own people and destroyed Picon! That changed everything. It was no longer a simple battle between worlds. It had morphed into a conflict that would decide the fate of a dozen worlds. If lost history would judge him a fool.

No, it wasn't his fault! It is imperative that this war be won! Sooner or later this war will end and it had to end in the Colonial's favour. If the Colonial people were to live in freedom, then the Tau'ri had to be stopped before they became too strong. Their influence had to be ended in any place that they claimed as their own, or in their rage the Colonials would see just what kind of savageries these people were capable of. Adar sighed. He was determined that this war would end with the Colonials the victors no matter the costs. Failure could not even be contemplated.

"So say we all," he muttered and this time he meant it for all it was worth.

_**Six hours earlier: **_

_**Caprica Command and Control Centre**_

_**Castor Security complex Alpha **_

_**Level Five-Athenia City**_

_**Page seven-hundred sixty- eight section six: Summary Evaluation Report code-Castor:**_

_Summary Code Castor - Section One: Assessments_

_To the esteemed Leaders of the Quorum, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the President of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol: _

_Since the start of the state of war between the Twelve Colonies and the Earth government known to us as the 'Tau'ri' the Colonies have suffered massive casualties and losses unseen in any previous war. At the behest of President Adar, the Research and Development teams of the Military, the corporate leaders of the most massive civilian companies and corporations, the head personnel in charge of Militaries Logistics, and the top three university 'Strategic Sophists' were brought together to discuss the true state the Colonies existence at this time, the state of our enemy known as the 'Tau'ri', as well as what steps will need to be taken to win this war._

First, our assessment of the current state of the Colonies will be identified and detailed. Second, an assessment will be made of the Tau'ri and their capabilities with the information available at this time.

In the first battle of this war, the Colonies lost a grand total of one hundred fifty nine ships of the liberation fleet, and additional twenty seven capital ships with one heavily defended military anchorage, over two billion civilians, and the industrial might and capabilities of one of the most industrialized of the Twelve Worlds. The epidemic currently sweeping through the rest of the surviving Colonies is further exasperating the situation, even with the gradual discoveries of inoculations against this Tau'ri Plague we are still hard pressed to contain the virus from the colonies at large. From an economic standpoint, the Colonies are in the greatest crisis ever faced with the total loss of Picon, as Picon served as the main trade hub throughout the Colonies as well as host to the Colonial Military headquarters. It held a great deal of manufacturing and supply capabilities and its destruction now hampers the logistics of the war more than any other current factor.

_As it stands, these conditions set the Colonies as a whole, back on military production and manufacturing by six to eight months. It will take that minimum time to get them back up to their previous levels, and at least three years for us to return to the full capacity that Picon would have brought to the Colonies as a whole. At this point in time the Colonies are not at our full industrial might, and unless actions are taken now to address this issue, they never will be. Each of the Colonies must expand their own production and manufacturing facilities in order to cope with the loss of Picon._

With the quarantine of Picon and the military blockade of its surrounding space, civilian cargo must now take longer access routes to travel and deliver their cargos, resulting in longer shipping times, increased fuel expenditures, and more wear and tear on parts leading to longer repair and maintenance times. As Picon will be contaminated for at least five hundred years or more because of radiation, virus mutations and atmospheric pollutions, this results in long term issues for the Colonies civilian and commercial traffic that must be addressed as soon as possible.

The Colonies have also suffered massive losses to fighter pilot and ship crew numbers in the liberation fleet, forcing the Colonial military to draw on its reserves and any enlisted military personnel with artillery or piloting experience to account for the losses. The issue at the time is that while the government is bringing the reserves to bear, it is left with a minimal number of reserve personnel in case the recalled military men and women of the Colonies are lost against the Tau'ri. This can only be solved through training the newly enlisted personnel so that they are of any real use to the military, though this eats away at time and resources that could be better spent elsewhere. There are a lot of volunteers but those numbers may be insufficient. A universal draft law may be warranted in the immediate future.  


_This will of course be fought against by more than one of the remaining worlds in regards to total militarization of their populace, smaller worlds such as Aerilon and Sagittaron. The basic pacifistic slant of both worlds when compared to the more violent histories of Picon and Caprica pre-articles would lead almost a full five percent of the remaining Colonial strength refusing to assist in any form of employment of their skills._

_  
The Tau'ri are a bit harder to assess, though some general statements regarding them at this time can be postulated. However, it must be stated, that further Intel on them is needed if the war is to be successfully prosecuted. This is a matter of utmost importance. Without further, reliable intelligence on the enemy, this war may very well be lost._

_Summary Code Castor – _

_Section Two:_

_Known Tau'ri Capability_

_  
To begin, what is known for certain of the Tau'ri will be summarized. Other information that has been accumulated but has little documentation to support concrete evaluations will be speculated upon until further Intel can be gathered to support or contradict said speculations._

Item One: This speculation is based on initial conversations with the Doctor Daniel Jackson and the Tau'ri, and observations from our own probes. It indicates that Thirteenth Colony holds somewhere in the ranges of five to eight billion people on its surface. In comparison, the most populous of the Colonies in the entire history has only held three point six billion people.

_  
Item Two: From recorded evidence taken from our probes it is known that the Tau'ri ground fighting Forces are as good as any within the sphere of Colonial Air and Ground Assault Forces, though it has been observed that they have had more experience and may in fact be more combat effective than Colonial ground forces of equal training and experience._

Item Three: The Tau'ri are more technologically advanced than us in certain military technologies. This cannot be denied or ignored.  
_  
These are the three things known for certain which can not be modified without further Intel. However, speculation and deductions can be made on generalities of what is believed to be the situation with the Tau'ri._

_Summary Code Castor –_

_Section Three Speculation:_

_Item One: Speculation is that the Tau'ri holds fewer resources or that their resources are spread out much further than the Colonies. This can be deduced from fact that the Tau'ri have not pressed further incursions into the territories of the Colonies. Because of these lack of resources, it has been speculated that the Tau'ri attacked Picon to buy themselves time with which to build up their forces in preparation for a series of attack on the Colonies leading up to an invasion._

Item Two- part one: Speculation as to why and how the Thirteenth Colony, under the control of the Tau'ri, is as technologically advanced as it is. It is currently believed that one of three scenarios is the likely explanation for why the Tau'ri are more scientifically developed than anything we have previously seen. The first is that the show "Trek to the Stars" is in fact a documentary of previous historical events and that the previous Federated Earth government got involved in an interstellar war which left them and their territories decimated afterwards. There is circumstantial evidence adding to the credence of this theory by the ruined worlds encountered by the exploration fleet that precluded the Liberation Fleet.

_Item Two-part two: The second possible scenario is that Earth barely survived a conquest fleet by alien life forms (refer to section thirty-nine subsection eight on possible evidence of non-human life forms), and that Earth has been reverse engineering these captured alien technologies and integrating them into their forces in the wake of their victory and rise to power. Given the scenario of a true alien invasion, this in turn could have given rise to the Tau'ri coming into power. With the previous groups within the governments failing to stop an alien threat from destroying their world and civilization, the peoples of the world would have turned to those who not only could have promised a chance at victory, but those who could actually accomplish such a promise._

_Item Two-part three: The third scenario believed is something in between the first two._

_While these scenarios may seem fanciful, the circumstantial evidence currently being evaluated from recorded Earth visual data, and the data and observations of the observed worlds leading to and near Earth space that have been utterly ruined and destroyed, presents evidence that needs further evaluation. Given the incredible technological gap between the Tau'ri and the Colonies of Kobol, this evidence leads the researches and analysts to believe that the former Federated Earth was involved in a large interstellar war somewhere between fifty to two hundred years ago with an alien race, and that the Federated Earth and her Colonies were decimated, leaving a power vacuum that 'The Tau'ri' used bring themselves into power and have used back-engineered alien technologies to place and keep themselves in power. The timeframe is uncertain as to when this possible interstellar war and the Tau'ri's rise to power would have occurred in as we do not know how much devastation, death, and destruction were wrought to Earth and her possible Colonies. Much of their advanced technology may have been lost and it is very likely that their so-called world wars were the Tau'ri's attempts to gain and consolidate power and reacquire some of that lost technology from different parts of Earth._

Given that there was only one energy weapon aboard the Tau'ri warships, data leans towards Earth and her Colonies having suffered extensive damage, with the Tau'ri only just rediscovering their previous sciences alongside their use of back engineered, possibly alien technologies before contact was made between the Colonies of Kobol and the Tau'ri. This explains why they were both so primitive yet so obviously advanced. The greatest concern however are the Tau'ri's creating and installing more of these energy weapons into their ships. Colonial military vessels as they are cannot stand up to this sort weapon. The military need to quickly find out if they are developing more capital energy weapons, and they must make an extreme priority of destroying any such facilities or shipyards responsible for the manufacture and installment of these weapons.

Weapon's-wise, a Tau'ri ship is already superior to any ship the Colonial military can currently field. Given the range of their attacks, the sort of sensors needed for those ranges, the rapid response of their anti-fighter craft guns and fighters, the energy shielding their vessels have, their ship speeds, and the materials their vessels are made out of, it is strongly assumed that they may be on an equal if not greater footing than the Cylons in terms of their computer technology and general knowledge of the sciences. Given that Earth's average amount of data being transmitted at any given time is estimated to between twelve to sixteen times more than Picon and Caprica combined at their peaks, we believe that the Cylons, even if they were to somehow infiltrate the Tau'ri computer systems, would be inundated due to the sheer amount of information flowing through them. This is assuming that the Cylons could adapt and infiltrate what is essentially an alien computer data system that they would not know anything about. Of course, this scenario also assumes that the Tau'ri and the Cylons do not know of each other or are not in contact with each other, something that can't be determine one way or the other without further Intel. However, it is the supposition of the analysts that the evidence leans towards the Cylons and the Tau'ri being unaffiliated with each other at the time of the publication of this report. That supposition may change in time as more intelligence is gathered. The Tau'ri may seek the Cylons out, if the two have not had previous dealing with each other. This is something that the Colonial military and government must do everything in their power to prevent if at all possible. This must be prevented at any cost. Again, it is imperative that the Cylons must be prevented from gaining access to Tau'ri technology! 

_  
Another issue that must be investigated regards the words of the American North Tau'ri leader 'Henry Hayes'. Earth was believed to be a myth until the Tau'ri stumbled onto us. It must be assumed that there are many other human populated worlds. We must assume that some of them are as advanced if not more so than the Tau'ri and evidence points towards the fact that there is another interstellar power unaccounted for that even the Tau'ri are wary of. Doctor Jackson's words indicated that the reason the Tau'ri considers some of those unaffiliated worlds as 'brethren' is due to the fact that the Tau'ri lacked the time or resources to conquer them, instead deciding to spend their time and energy on other matters related to Earth, such as dealing with their own internal troubles._

_Looking at the recorded visual evidence, we see that the Tau'ri military was slowly being turned into a branch of the Tau'ri Government in the form of a Police Force. The Army of the American North shows the most obvious signs of this. We must also assume that the Tau'ri are employing the use of drugs their 'Militarized Police Forces' to help in controlling their populations. The evidence is circumstantial on this, but it cannot be discounted._

_Summary Code Castor – _

_Section Four:_

_Recommendations to be considered _

_Given the situation and assessment of the __war at this time, an initiall outline has been generated of things that need to take place for the war to be won. The first and foremost is the need for accurate and continious intelligence of the enemy. This Intel is desperately needed if this war will be prosecuted to a sucessful conclusion. Because of the lack of reliable intelligence data there are many vital unanswered questions at this time. The most pressing question is whether Earth has colonies of its own to draw men and material from, as well as the pressing concern over whether the Tau'ri have a base situated somewhere near the Colonies. While the CDF can and should continue scouting the outlying systems_

_we must know whether or not ships are entering E__arth's solar system from other, unidentifed sources. This in turn will definitively determine whether or not the Tau'ri are receiving outside help and how much of it they are getting and may give cluses as to where these support ships and supplies are coming from and if there is a Cylon connection. This in turn can allow the Colonial defense forces to create a more effective assessment of how much ship building capacity they can bring to this war, a good framework for how many colonies or at least allied nations are supporting them, and a general idea of whether or not the Tau'ri are moving outwards or consolidating themselves inwards. If they are consolidating inwards then their resources would appear to be limited and as such they are vulnerable._  
_  
Rigorous investigation of the surrounding Earth systems are strongly recommended and continued observation of the Tau'ri __home world is critical__. If the Tau'ri are sending ships and supplies outwards, it must be assumed that they are creating forward bases and outposts from which to spy and attack the Colonies of Kobol from and are preparing stragetims aimed towards going on the offensive. If they're receiving ships and supplies and logistical support from other places, colonies, bases or other unknown sources for Earth, then they already have colonies and outposts under their control, and are working mainly on creating the numbers of ships needed to wage effective war. It is now surmised that there are other interstellar powers within the galaxy, the worst case scenario being that Earth already has the ships needed to wage war against Colonial interests, but have spent their time waging a covert war against another enemy and do not have the time or resources to focus full attention to the Colonies. _

_If this worst case scenario is the situation being dealt with__, then it would be advisable to find a way to encourage this other power to fight thereby weakening the Tau'ri military base. The Tau'ri have powerful technology at their disposal, but it isn't believed that that they have the logistics they would need to win a two-front. Given that Earth is only slightly more industrialized than Sagittaron, it is presumed that the Tau'ri may be suffering from issues of a supply bottleneck in this war. However, a single Tau'ri ship with an energy weapon is worth three dozen Colonial capital ships and their fighter escorts, barring suicidal rammings Therefore it is imperative that intelligence be acquired of their current ship numbers, as well as their ship building times. Crtical data as to whether or not they're producing more of those terrifying energy weapons used by the Tau'ri ship the "Prometheus" must be obtained. Captured samples of this or any of the other Tau'ri technologies is strongly encouraged so as to provide a counterweight against their weaponry._

_The posibility of other human occupied worlds is high and information is needed to determine if there __are any other humans worlds out there willing to stand against the Tau'ri. This data should include location, their technological capabilities, their dedication to the customs and piety of our ancestors through which every nation and city is sustained. And worlds that should be avoided at all costs must be located and idenified for future reference. Separate protocols must be created as to how to approach these worlds, and it has been suggested that the main Judiciary Tribunal, the College of Pontiffs, and the military be the ones to decide on such a list of directives for how to go about such a contact._

_However if the war situation continues with the technological gap left as it is, the the greater Colonial industrial might must be made to bear in the fight against the Tau'ri. This would however require time we may not have. While it is unthinkable, if this action cannot quick y negate the technological advantage the Tau'ri have, then the government may need to enter into talks with them, even if only to gain more time. If this can't be done, military plans for the disruption of the Tau'ri economy and production must be created in an attempt to stall them while allied forces are built up in order to overwhelm them with sheer numbers. Above all else, again and this point can not be overstressed, Intel is needed if effective counter strageties can be formulated against the tauri in order to win this war._

Regarding the remaining Colonies, expansion of our industrial and manufacturing centers on each and every surviving world must be increased. This war in terms of ship losses is already as bad as the Cylon war almost a half century earlier, and (under present conditions) it will get worse before it gets better. Each of the Colonies needs to decrease their reliance on shipments of goods and materials from the other colonies worlds, and they need to increase their own food production rates. Anchorages should be moved into a further orbit away from the worlds they protect so that if the Tau'ri do destroy them that they won't rain down on our worlds like they did on Picon. We need to create planetary defense batteries (Rail or Coil Gun weaponry in combination with missile batteries) on the surface of the Colonies themselves to help protect the worlds from near orbit objects and ships. The Tau'ri make use of effective heavily armored combat vehicles they call 'Tanks' and armored fighting vechiles. 

_It is stroungly advised that our own armored mobile weapons be upgraded to aid our own ground troops, as early tests proved these tanks to be insanely effective as killing craft against both armored personnel carriers, buildings, and infantry. Strategies must be developed that will disrupt the powerful Tau'ri sensor and communications equipment. Resources such as petrolieum, Tylium, hull plating, and Faster-Than-Light Engines and assorted parts for it must be stockpiled and protected aganist Tauri incursions. Without these essentials materials, our ships will not be able to take the fight to the Tau'ri or hold out against a dedicated offensive conflict from them._

_Another series of suggestions were brought up by the esteemed Gaius Baltar's computer tech teams regarding what we can do to further protect our computer systems from both and the Tau'ri and __possible Cylons attempts to subvert our computer systems as they attemptedto do during the first war. The first suggestion was that communications and sensor systems be separated from from the rest of the computer systems that control Colonial ships. Items such as the engines, the pressurized doors and hatches, and the weapons systems should use separate and individual non-integrated computer systems. Under those conditions, if one of them is compromised or otherwise disrupted, the interference will be obvious to spot and will remain separate from the rest of the systems. A second recommendation is that we should partition and hardwire a small section of our systems to a hardset of code and having each computer check and __double-check__ their system codes against the original code as a means of further security. _

_While the second __suggestion is the most likely path to a data-system that the Cylons cannot hack into, the terrifying scenario of someone altering the main code has also been put forth. In regards to that unlikely, though terrifying scenario, a third suggestion of giving each ship its own individual security code has been put forth and it is felt that this would give Colonial military defense systems another layer of security to prevent the Tau'ri or Cylons from exploiting our computer and network securities. _

_  
Logically because of minimal r__e__sources, the Tau'ri should try to disrupt Colonial economies and its ability to wage war by purposely attacking shipping and industry as well as resorting to the use of general terror tactics similar to what was experienced druing the cylon agression thirty-eight years ago. Given the Tau'ri's lack of logistics in comparison to the Colonials, as well as their previous use of terror tactics, it is believed that they will try to intimidate the Colonial people into submission at they start to attack the foundations of civilization. The Tau'ri will hit the economy, homes, food supplies and distribution, and the sense of pride and security, and our very beliefs. The Tau'ri from the current information, lack the numbers needed at this point to do anything else. Given this, scenarios and plans should be developed to deal with future Tau'ri terror attacks._

_Preparations must be made in the event that they strike Caprica. The ruling body of the Government must be relocated elsewhere as needed. Evacuation plans need to be created, supplies of all sorts need to be stockpiled, heavy re-enforced shelters need to be built. The destruction of large numbers of cities, production centers, and shipyards by the Tau'ri before they are driven off and destroyed must be taken into account. Unless the Tauri become desperate. it is not believed that another Picon-like event will occur where the entire planet is rendered uninhabitable, as the majority of the damage done to Picon was done by the anchorage itself as it fell back into the atmosphere due to the Tau'ri attack. As the anchorages are being moved much further away from the worlds they orbit, more time will be given to each world to remove or otherwise destroy any debris before it could cause the same level of devastation that it did to Picon. However, preparations must be made in the event that the Tau'ri use radiologic and viral weaponry against Colonial interests even though current data sugests that the Tau'ri's primary aim will be too subjugate rather than to outright destroy._

_There will be later suggestions and proposals made, but this preliminary summation represents the most up-to-date status of the current situation, and these suggestions are of things that can be done right now. Stockpiling on a massive scale should be begun as soon as possible. More Intel is required. _

End of summary.

_**Present time:**_

_**Caprica network broadcast corporation (CapNBC) and the Colonial broadcasting company (CBC) presents the following report: Colonies under Siege!**_

"Good evening everyone, I'm Kellan Deanoir reporting on day one hundred and ninety-three of the Colonial-Tau'ri conflict. We've been following events in the last week of the as yet unidentified plague that has devastated the survivors of the Picon attack by the Tau'ri. Leonis, Canceron and Virgon colonies have reported sixty seven million people have contracted this highly virulent airborne disease. Those colonies have been quarantined, isolated from the rest of the colonies in a desperate effort to keep the plague from spreading. There have been thousands of cases where people who seemed well in the mornings are found to be in dire straits that same evening. Speculation has run wild that the unknown virus originated on Picon and is being spread via respiratory contact. Hospitals have been overwhelmed by the unknown virus that has so far claimed more than fourteen million reported lives in just the last three weeks on Caprica, Aerilon and Tauron, anywhere the Picon refugees have been relocated. There are over one hundred fifty million confirmed cases recorded so far and unconfirmed cases are estimated to be in the hundreds of millions spread across five planets. People are quarantined in their homes. There have been reports that terrified Colonials are killing Picon refugees in several cities. Colonial militia equipped in full decontamination suits has been called in to maintain order. We will continue with our ongoing coverage after this special broadcast.

Tonight, the leader of the Twelve Colonies, President Richard Adar, has consented to come to our studio and grant me a personal interview to discuss the state of the war and the conditions of Picon and the state of readiness in our conflict against the Tau'ri. This is the first one-on-one interview that has been granted since the conflict began and our station and the CBC expresses its appreciation for this unprecedented interview. Mister President, thank you for coming here."

"You're welcome. It's good to be here."

"But first before we begin, I want to play an excerpt of that historic speech that changed the course of a mission of liberation to an interstellar conflict."

Across the twelve colonies and three clocked Earth probes and several Cylon intercept-stealth satellites the scene changed to show the previous interview.

President Adar:_ "Three days ago I received a report from the commander of the fleet that was deployed to rescue the recently rediscovered residents of the planet called Earth, known to us as the fabled Thirteenth Colony, to regain their place with us, their brothers. It was decided by the Quorum of Twelve, my military advisors and I, that the Earth needed to be liberated from their oppressive government whose control over Earth borders on totalitarianism. They were separated from us, completely unaware of and at the mercy of Cylons who could have destroyed them had they discovered them. It has always been our intention to offer them our protection and my forces assured me that there are hundreds of millions of people who would welcome us. Therefore, we sent our fleet in numbers that would ensure their protection and the removal of those we know as the Tau'ri. But I am mortified to tell you my people, that instead of coming together to be once more a reunited people, that in an act of unbridled aggression the military of that world destroyed more than a hundred of our vessels without provocation. Our forces entered their system but we believed that the people would rise up and overcome their oppressors without much bloodshed. Our military was prepared for any offensive tactics used by their space military. However…_

"However," the moderator continued as the tape was cut off, "the fact was our military suffered a defeat not seen since the Cylon/Colonial war. That defeat shook the very foundations of the government and destroyed our confidence in the Colonial military ability to protect us. How confident are you that, under current conditions, our worlds can be protected against Tau'ri aggression should they continue their acts of genocide against the surviving colony worlds?"

"After the initial reports of the defeat by the Tau'ri military began to come in, our analysts were attempting to understand just what happened. I received an emergency courier just hours before the attack on Picon informing me of the failure to liberate the people of the Thirteenth Colony. The survivors of the massacre at the Apellai System were returning to our outermost base and were still in a state of retreat when Picon was attacked.

"Apellaisystem?"

"That is our Colonial name for the Thirteenth Colony. The Apellai system is most appropriate as it is derived from the archaic root word apollymi meaning 'to destroy'. They are destroyers, even naming their ship _Apollo_ after the word, a conscious decision to cause fear amongst our people, as much so as the other well known traitor names of _Prometheus_ and _Daedalus_. From the evidence we've accumulated since the attack on Picon, we strongly believe that the Tau'ri were planning this attack from the beginning and were waiting for an opportune moment to proceed with their mission of terror." 

"Couldn't they have tracked the courier to our territory and then attacked?"

"No," answered Adar with absolute conviction. "Their ships are small and the underpowered FTL drives are primitive and would take many months to get to the colonies. Besides, there is no known way to track a stealth-runner class courier. There is no trail to follow as the ships move from point to point instantaneously." There is no trail to follow." He paused for a second weighing his words. "Our military believes that the enemy has a forward base somewhere near the Colonies and we have been efforting to discover that base of operations. The timing between the arrival of the courier and the attack is coincidental."

That confession shocked and frightened the reporter. "But the military hasn't found the ships that attacked us yet. They could conceivably launch another attack on our worlds!"

"No," consoled the President. "The Colonial military will not be caught unawares ever again. Never again will we suffer the horrors of Picon. The people will be safe from any form of sneak attack by the cowardly enemies that struck our peaceful world. Every system in the immediate area has been searched and we believe that wherever they were that have since abandoned their base. That supposition is supported by the fact that there have been no further attacks against our colonies."

"At this time…"

"At this time," agreed Adar. "I can assure you that there will be no more repeats of the attacks that we've suffered. I am taking every action necessary to safeguard the people of the twelve colonies. We will be resolute and vigilant so that no one, be they Tau'ri or Cylon, will ever again perpetrate such acts of genocide against our people. Because of this loss, our military is becoming stronger than ever. The people of this great nation are rising to the front, volunteering in huge numbers not even seen during the Cylon uprising, begging to be trained to protect everything that we know and love. We have new ships being designed, and we're protecting our worlds with diligence. The newest _Mercury_-class and Warstar combat groups are patrolling the colonies ensuring the utmost protection we can afford. We will not be caught unawares again," he said with conviction. "And we are also pursuing more aggressive combat patrols along the Cylon border to counter any intrusions or possible attacks from that quarter."

The reporter looked concerned. "We haven't violated the treaty by entering their territory, have we?"

"No, we are abiding by the treaty stipulations."

"But it is possible that the Tau'ri ships that attacked Picon are hiding inside Cylon territory."

"That is a possible scenario, however we have no confirmation and until there is we will not violate the treaty, but that is a possibility, yes. As I've said before there appears to be a link between the Tau'ri of Earth and the Cylons. How far and how deeply this extends, we are unsure at this time. If this suspicion is confirmed then it indicates just how dangerous the leaders of the Earth Cabal are and how much they are willing to sacrifice to maintain their terrorist grip on the people of Earth. We've already seen evidence of this."

"What evidence? Are you referring to the genocide on Picon?"

"No, I am referring to the genocidal practices of the Tau'ri government against their own people. It's not just the use of nuclear weapons on their own world against their own people. We have video evidence of the other atrocities committed by the Tau'ri. You've been briefed that we have obtained information on a recurring video programming called the station of History or as they call it, the History Channel. That program has broadcasted some of the most heinous sights that we've ever had witness to. Our analysts have been able to accurately translate the narrator's language. What we have seen is incontrovertible proof of the lengths in which the Tau'ri government will go to, to stay in power."

"We haven't been privy to those images yet, Mister President."

"You will very soon," Adar promised. "They're being released to the public right now and I promised you will be enraged as we were by what you see. The videos explain that less than sixty years ago, the Tau'ri waged a war against the rest of the planet. They were responsible for the deaths of millions of people placing their political prisoners in internment facilities they termed concentration camps, starved and systematically killed. The creators of the History channel tried to blame others but the evidence couldn't be hidden. Soldiers of the American North, Englanda Britannia and a province called Germanea, watched and very likely participated, as uncounted millions were sent to gas chambers to be poisoned and slaughtered like so much cattle. Other political prisoners were burned in ovens, men, women, children," Adar grimaced. "Those soldiers were seen to be helping those poor people whose only crime was that they believed in the gods instead of the religion of the cabal, but other pictures clearly show them herding those people like cattle to their deaths. Their only belongings were stacked in piles to keep them from being damaged while the victims were herded naked into ovens. Women's hair had been shaved and placed in bundles probably to be used for the production of wigs for the vanity of their Tau'ri oppressors. There was mass starvation, an action that is continuing to this day in some of the more oppressed regions. I – I have never witnessed anything like that, something that is blasphemy to the gods of the highest order, but I forced myself to watch, to bear witness of something we suspected for some time."

"For some time?" the moderator asked. "The people weren't told of any atrocities being perpetrated on the Thirteenth Colony. When did you find out about these alleged actions?"

The President looked into Kellan's eyes and steeled himself. His own eyes darkened as he started to explain. "I must make it clear that it is not the population but the Tau'ri cabal responsible for this carnage, although I have little doubt that there are many collaborators on Earth more than willing to revel in the blood on their hands. Several years ago, we were visited by an unknown ship we know as the Tau'ri-controlled vessel _Prometheus_. At that time we discovered that it was from the fabled Thirteenth Colony to which by the majority of accounts had been labeled as little more than a myth. The Battlestar fleet Helena under the command of Commander Etwaters initiated the first meeting with other humans near Caprica for the first time since the formation of the twelve colonies. First, we had to ascertain if this was really a first contact or some sort of deception by pirates or other organizations, or even the Cylons. It was quickly determined that they were indeed what they said they were. Doctor Daniel Jackson one of their langua specialist, understood the language of their ancestors, and it was through him we were able to develop a line of communication.

Doctor Jackson told us that the ruling class of the Thirteenth Colony was called the Tau'ri and that their ship was on a partial mission of exploration to discover other human worlds. They were apparently to surprise to see the advances that we made and were interested in developing closer relations with us. It then became our responsibility to get a better understanding of these people and that was the beginning of our uncovering the true facts of the state of Earth and the oppression the people there were forced to live under. The Tau'ri, Jackson explained, didn't believe in the gods, that they were false and they, the Tau'ri fought against them in some sort of secret war. We now know that that war was nothing less than the eradication of the belief in the gods on the Earth. He spoke of their forced labor camps and indoctrination centers designed to change the minds and hearts of the people. Furthermore, they wanted to know if we would become allies in their mission to completely subjugate Earth and several small colonies and in return they would share technological advantages they had developed. The Etwaters' response was one of outrage and he ordered the ship confiscated and the crew detained."

"But why would he do that? The _Prometheus_ was effectively a ship from another government that we have no ties with yet. What right did we have to detain them?"

"Officially, none whatsoever. In retrospect, Commander Etwaters erred in his actions. Unofficially, however his actions were precipitated by the subsequent actions of one General Jack O'Neill, the leader of the Tau'ri military forces that butchered so many Colonial lives at the massacre of ApellaiThree or what the Tau'ri call Sol Prime. He was the one who ordered Daniel Jackson to cease further communications. He was the one who, after receiving the order to surrender, immediately fired several missiles which crippled two cruisers, a destroyer escort, and destroyed several Vipers before they used their as yet unidentified FTL drive to escape retribution. Those revelations and actions were the official reasons given to the public for the orders to liberate the Thirteenth Colony and reunite them once more with their brethren. However, the real reason we sent our brave brothers and sisters to earth was to liberate the people from the murderous control of the Tau'ri. What you have not been told, until now, that is, is that the _Prometheus_ used nuclear missiles to destroy a secret forward base we had monitoring the Cylon border. Tens of thousands of our people were butchered without even knowing that they were at war. They're responsible for the deaths of millions, the revelation to the Cylons of the forward base such murderous actions can't be ignored. The deaths of our brave men and women weigh heavily on my mind. I can hear their souls screaming for justice at the way they were murdered. Every night, I can hear them crying for their lost brothers and sisters dying on Earth. I ordered the men and women of the colonial forces to save their brothers and sisters from the horrors being inflicted on them by murderous and vile people such as Jackson and O'Neill. I could not remain complacent and something had to be done. After private consultation and personal meditation with the gods, and intense discussion with the Quorum I informed them of my beliefs and decisions. The quorum agreed with me and developed plans taking everything we knew into consideration for a successful outcome and to free those enslaved."

"But it didn't work out that way. The Colonial forces were defeated and outgunned by what was considered a vastly inferior force by our force commanders."

Adar's face looked pained. "Inferior in numbers, but not in strength."

"So our intelligence gathering was inadequate when it came to the power and capabilities of the Tau'ri navy. From my understanding we had surveillance probes monitoring the planet for quite a while, so how did this lapse in intelligence occur?"

"The Tau'ri were able to hide their true capabilities from our intelligence services observing the planet. We were correct on the numbers of ships they had in service, but woefully inaccurate when it came to those same ships ability to inflict damage to our forces. Admiral Nagala was unprepared for the kinds of resistance the Tau'ri were able to mount against our forces. Reports are still coming in however. Apparently, Nagala had chosen a strategy which allowed the enemy ships to use their superior speed to outflank and damage our forces. He hesitated, trying to give the enemy ample opportunity to surrender before she sanctioned lethal force. The Earth military forces under the command of General O'Neill opened lines of communication and then immediately attacked during opened communication unconscious of the articles of conflict and proceeded to decimate our forces. Nagala's attempt at mercy was thrown back in his face."

"Even during the battle the Tau'ri were flaunting the fact that they were in league with non human races. Their fighters are close to identical in appearance to the old style Cylon war craft. Their lines and basic configuration were more than obvious to the intelligence gathering personnel within the fleet. We knew this from the first contact with the _Prometheus_, but the fact that hundreds, maybe thousands of these fighters fought against the fleet confirm that the Tau'ri while using the same basic doctrine when it comes to their fighters they use them as force multipliers just like the Cylons do."

"Then if the Cylons are in fact in collusion with the Tau'ri then they may know more about the Colonies than we ever thought."

"They knew of the weaknesses of the ships sent, our tactical plans, and all kinds of information that the Cylons may have given the Tau'ri to invalidate our own military advantage over them. It has long been believed that the Cylons disappearance was not simply due to cowardice but part of a longer term strategy. If they have indeed been in collusion with the people of the Tau'ri, then they may have been planning on this all along. Enemy forces trapped our people, causing a death toll unseen since the devastation of Caprica on the eve of the Cylon-Colonial war, and has only been eclipsed by the destruction of Picon as a habitable world. The Tau'ri could only have known how to hit Picon if they had been informed about it and the scale of its defenses. This was an attack that came barely two weeks after the first battle had been concluded and our forces long since gone from their territory."

"So you claim that the Earth people or their overlords have no concept of the Articles of Conflict. President Adar, are you trying to say that it's the fault of the commanders in the field?"

"Let me make this clear. We have the best, most competent officers commanding our fleets at all times. These officers have cut their teeth on the battlefields of the Cylon wars and amongst the pirate attacks that came for years afterwards and no one is more proud than I to have known them and to have them serve under me. But this is also the first war with humans fighting humans since Unification. According to our latest reports, Nagala's desire to keep loss of life at a minimum allowed the Thirteenth colony warriors to get in a first strike with their weapons. While laudable on his part, that error effectively cost the lives of thousands of our own people and the indirect loss of millions of lives on Earth. It gave the Tau'ri government the opportunity that it's been looking for, for decades."

"Excuse me, but what excuse are you referring to?"

"Our liberation attempt inadvertently allowed the Tau'ri the excuse to use nuclear weapons to kill millions of people who remembered their origins and still loyal to the gods and remove any threats from those who would have risen and joined us on the planet. Their infamous broadcast of their declaration of war against their brothers just before their destruction of Picon was filled with lies. Their leader said that we used nuclear weapons on their planet. The records show an even darker truth. Yes, we did release nuclear weapons near their planet – after they used them on us first – but it was the Tau'ri that selectively chose to allow those weapons to hit the planet. We have recordings that clearly show that the defenses that were so effective in destroying our brave men and women, purposely ignored certain uncontrolled missiles that hit the planet in areas were the Tau'ri resistance was strongest. They killed millions to remain in power and blamed us to cover their heinous crimes. That crime can never be forgiven. It is an offense against both gods and man!"

"We have reports filtering in from the first elements of the liberation force arriving home. There are horror stories of entire corps of our frontline fighters being slaughtered without ever seeing their enemies. There were reports that even after we began our retreat the enemy continued to kill and destroy. The wounded are in the tens of thousands. Radiation sickness, physical trauma, emotionally handicapped warriors needing to be sedated. How are we going to treat them and deal with the plague that is ravaging the people? Our hospitals and services are already over-extended, the first time since the height of the Cylon War. What are your plans to help deal with the situation?

"As the fleet arrives, some of the Battlestars will serve as mobile life stations. Those ships will help alleviate some of the over-crowding while other units will be averted to stations and areas where the plague is not present."

"I hope those crews will be vaccinated with the experimental drug we've had reports on before the patients are allowed to come into contact with them…"

"Yes, they will and I'm glad that you mentioned that. Our scientists have been working hard to develop a cure to whatever this is that is killing our people. Most of the deaths we've seen so far are from the very young, sickly, those whom are affected by other diseases, and the older members of the population and as of now, we do not have a cure. We have a vaccine, still experimental, that we are rushing into production. The long term effects of the immunization are not known but we have little choice. It should protect any of those whom have not contracted the disease yet. However at this point we can only treat and try to minimize the symptoms. We are dealing with a completely new and unknown virus and there are no cures for virus-related diseases, the common cold being the perfect example."

"How long before it's ready to be distributed to the general population?"

"It'll be another two weeks minimum before it will start to be available for everyone's use. Officials and military personnel are being given the experimental vaccine now. There is still testing going on as the development of such medicines take time. The Picon plague as some are calling it has been a disaster of interplanetary proportions," Adar said stating the obvious for effect. Then he stopped and rubbed his eyes the act causing more people to sympathize with his 'plight'. "Our scientists have confirmed that this disease didn't originate from Picon's biosphere," he let slip.

This perked up the moderator. "Most people believe that with the destruction of the dry docks and their subsequent crashing into Picon somehow released the dormant virus from its slumber affecting the Picon population and the others as it the Picon refugees as carrier. Are you saying that this isn't correct?"

"I am saying that the destruction of the dry docks and the timing of the disease are not coincidental. This disease is a form of biological attack instigated by the Tau'ri. We have solid evidence that the Earthers used a spy to deliver the plague to Picon. The attack on the anchorage was a ploy to cover their real attack. In fact, we have caught the individual, Patient Alpha, who sacrificed his own body to spread the plague that is killing our people."

The moderator was shocked and it took a moment for her to regain her composure. "Who is this person? Has he been confirmed to be from Earth? How did he get here?"

The President looked grim, playing it for all it was worth. "This 'individual' from Earth, despite his illness, didn't reveal much information other than he had been sent to punish us for daring to attack the Tau'ri. He didn't speak our language competently and communication was difficult, however he informed us that for the small amount of time he was on Picon before the attack, he contaminated dozens of individuals, in the days before the destruction. The most chilling words stated by the man before he died of disease were, "I just hope to see your face when the virus kills most of your population dead… DEAD." Those words stuck with me. He laughed about it and seemed quite please with himself being the instrument of mass murder."

"How did he get here?" the moderator repeated. "How was he captured?"

"That is classified, but I can tell you that that particular entry method has been closed and secured. This incident shows how implacable the enemy is, how determined they are to destroy us and how ruthless they can be."

"Can you tell us anything more about the captured Earther?"

"Other than the fact that he was part of the Tau'ri military, I am not at liberty to say. He died from the illness and injury shortly after he was captured. Our doctors are cultivating the virus from the remains in hopes of finding a cure."

"They used biological and nuclear weapons on both Picon and their own people. Will our military consider retaliating accordingly?"

"We have all options on the table," the President responded coldly. "These people are not like us. They are ruled by an intolerant government whose values and morals conflict with the laws of the gods and man. When our forces retreated and broke off the engagement, the Tau'ri continued the attacks, killing those who were unable to defend themselves from their murderous weapons. The conflict should have been over. That should have been the logical outcome as we understand that continued war only adds to the destruction of both sides. The Tau'ri don't follow the rules set down buy the gods. They declared war against their own brethren and purposely destroyed a world falsely claiming that we used nuclear weapons on their home world. They are a primitive culture much like we were in the distant past. We used to fight wars against each other. As our science increased, we eventually used the Cylons as soldiers in our wars. But those wars were never intended to be instruments of genocide. We understood our limitations and that was the primarily the reason why we used Cylons instead of our own people. Using Cylons instead of men and women in wars helped mankind to mature and we were able to purse our dreams of a better society and culture without fear of sending our youngest and brightest to their needless deaths. In contrast, the Tau'ri are a vengeance-filled people who will stop at nothing to further their goals."

"And those goals would be?"

"Nothing less than the complete destruction of the Twelve Colonies."

"But President Adar isn't that a bit of a stretch?"

"The evidence speaks for itself," Adar testily answered. "Doctor Jackson made their intentions clear during our first contact with their ship. They can't afford to have their complete dominance of Earth challenged and the have vowed to destroy anyone who would interfere with their plans, whatever they may be, for Earth. They are afraid of us because of what we represent. These monsters don't just defy the gods they try to 'slay' the gods by destroying their very memories! Blasphemy upon blasphemy! They justify this by calling the gods false and intend to force us into following their own perverse beliefs, something that advances their own agenda. They're terrified of us and are hiding behind lies and deceit and murderous deeds afraid of our righteous retribution against those whom have kept the people of the Thirteenth Colony from their rightful heritage and their brethren. They know we are coming. They will not stop and we must be just as diligent. For now on, peace is not an option. The Tau'ri are more treacherous than the Cylons because they are us, humans. Even if we were to make peace with them, they would use that peace to prepare and attack us in force as soon as they were able. For these and other reasons, we must protect ourselves and save our brethren on Earth. The concentration camps, the mass murders are continuing unabated across their ruling countries. If something is not done soon, there will be none of the reunionsts left with the power to resist the predations of the Tau'ri terrorist cabal. Then they will be free to come after us."

"President Adar, what you are advocating is nothing less than a full-scale war against the Tau'ri. Granted, considering their actions, anything less would be irresponsible, however we have the right to dictate policy to these people, colonists or not?"

"Yes," he answered. "They are the Thirteenth Tribe of Kobol, and as such they fall under the jurisdiction of Colonial justice. Humanity must to be reunited if we are going to survive. The Cylons want our destruction and if they have influenced the Tau'ri in any way then the danger to the human race has been increased ten-fold. Without the thirteenth tribe, the Cylons could never defeat us. Our warships can stop any actions the Cylons can try. But in association with the Tau'ri, the Cylons could launch a coordinated attack with the intent of crippling and then destroying our nation. I have no doubt that with their newfound technology they'd swiftly turn upon the Earth and destroy all human life there. It is in their artificially generated nature to turn upon their creators. I will say this, no matter how despicable the Tau'ri are, the people under their control are innocents, captives in a war not of their making. In light of this evidence, as elected President of the colonies of Kobol I cannot stand by and allow this to continue. Therefore, in accordance with the Quorum of Twelve, I have authorized the placement of the Articles of Colonization to the people of Earth. As of now, all of the people of Earth are now free, having all of the rights and responsibilities as any of the other twelve colonies. This gives them protection under the law as they fight against their oppressors."

"This however isn't binding considering that the people of Earth have no way to know that they are being set free," the reporter countered.

"They have no way to know for the time being," Adar agreed, something he found himself doing much too much of during this interview. "But when the time comes and the Tau'ri have been brought to justice, the people will rejoice. The gods will not allow evil to triumph over freedom. Understand my resolve: We will prevail."

"Mister President, getting back to the plague. What steps are being taken to minimize the ever increasing numbers of casualties?"

"By my presidential authority, I am quarantining all of the crews and ships of the liberation fleet from all contact with the affected colonies until this disease is under control. The last thing we need is to have the plague loose inside a re-circulated air system among out returning troops! The soldiers have not been exposed and we are doing everything in our power to that they are not. As I've said before, we have developed an experimental vaccine and all of our returning soldiers will be inoculated. And with the blessings of Aesculapius, the god of medicine, we will keep them safe."

"Does this include the Sagittarons on board?"

"No one will be exempt," the President hissed. "This plague is too dangerous not to be fought with everything at our disposal. If treatment is refused then the Sagittarons will be shuttled to their homeworld and left there until the plague burns itself out. We can't afford untreated crew to infect the rest of the returning fleet. Other fleets patrolling the systems and beyond have been ordered to remain isolated until we can vaccinate them. And I stress once more that the vaccine is a preventative, not a cure."

"I'm surprised that this vaccine was produced so very quickly. Doesn't this normally take months even years to produce an effective vaccine?"

"True, but we have hundreds of scientists working on the problem. There are at least three different facilities developing their own versions of the vaccine. Aquarian Pharmaceuticals has produced the earliest version of a vaccine. Vaccine production is a fairly standard procedure once we isolated the virus. Our scientists' main concern is that it has not been enough time for it to be properly tested. There may be side effects that won't present itself until the future."

The moderator didn't want to going off on that tangent. "How effective is it?"

"AP's current vaccine is approximately eight-six percent effective and must be given by injection."

"Only eight-six percent effective?"

"The acolytes of Aesculapius are working as hard and as fast as they can and I have been assured that the vaccine will be improved as soon as possible."

"The Sagittarons will not take this vaccine. Their religious leaders will denounce this as an affront to the gods."

"Sagittaron has not been hit as hard as some of the other worlds. But they do have over a dozen confirmed cases so far. That is sure to blossom into a full-blown planetary epidemic in a matter of weeks if they don't use the vaccine. Because of their determination to refuse to use medical techniques that can help their people, I have ordered that world to be completely quarantined as soon as the survivors of the fleet who choose to go there set foot on their home. The vaccine will be available to all who ask of it. But I can't let this spread any further than it already has."

"Millions will die if they refuse to take it."

"Sagittaron is a free colony. The decision that they make will be their choice," he added soberly. There was nothing else to be said. Everybody knew what was coming."I know that they wish to allow for the rights to be kept intact, but I will not allow for a possible second mutated strain to leave their world in the future and if I am forced to I can and will have the planet blockaded completely for the foreseeable future."

Kellan knew as well as he did that the colony's religious leaders would adamantly refuse the medicine effectively signing the death warrants of thirty five percent of four billion people. It was their beliefs and their choice. She'd say a silent prayer for them against the death that was sure to come.

"And with that I thank you, Mr. President, for sharing some time with us."

"Thank you."

"We'll be back in a moment with commentaries and video of the Earth's History channel…"

***

Adar, surrounded by his aides and security contingent quickly left the television studio and the dozens of reporters trying to get an impromptu interview. His car sped back to the secured bunker located some twenty miles north of Caprica City. There was another meeting he had to attend to. The High Priestess would be there, no doubt to berate him for not having enough faith in the holy quest. Well, screw her. The President let go of a long breath he was holding. This debacle had seemed so simple. Prestige, resources, the list had been endless. The President stretched inside the limo. His back hurt almost as bad as his head and in fact both of them were throbbing in synch with one another.

His lifelong friend waited patiently as Adar went through his ritual of knocking back two backache killers and ambrosia cocktail before speaking to him. Giovanni had known him from childhood. Some had said that it was he that was the power behind the power. He often laughed at that. If only they knew. "I saw the interview," he started. "I thought it went pretty well. And the initial commentaries seemed to be positive."

"Thank the gods for something going right. I was sure that Deanoir was going to ask me when we planned to strike back."

His friend shivered something that had nothing to do with the air-conditioning.

"We can't do a thing to them right now," Richard continued more to himself than to one of his few real friends. "This plague…" He stopped, trying to compose himself. "It if wasn't for this plague, we could have gotten our resources together to rebuild back to full strength in less than a year. With Baltar's new integrated computer system, we could have upgraded our ship's response time and even improve jump efficiency."

"Military's resisting." It wasn't a question.

"Not as much as you might think," Adar answered. "Attitudes are changing among the younger officers, not like Corman and his old guard. It's been thirty-five years. We haven't heard from the Cylons since the treaty. You can bet that they know something's wrong, but they won't dare attack us now. Our military is on a heightened sense of alert. And if they do, we'll be ready for them. No, my only problem now is the College of Pontiffs. They think they're getting away, leaving me to take the blame," he muttered more to himself than to his friend. "They're as much to blame for this fiasco as we are."

"You can't blame the will of the gods," Giovanni said.

"You can't blame the will of the gods; it's our faith that's weak, not their will'. That's what they always say, and then they walk away, with their hands clean. Not this time. Livia wanted this 'liberation' – ha! – as much as I did." Adar leaned back. "The entire college wanted the Tau'ri brought to heel. They couldn't wait for the new converts and their money to start flowing into their coffers. I wanted to be remembered as the man to reunite all the worlds in our war. The military and industrialists wanted that so-called primitive FTL drive and the energy shield technology. And all of the resources present on that planet! Everybody had a stake in this gamble. Now look at us, eleven worlds, one destroyed and one looking to destroy everything we stand for. Damn, I frakked this one up. But if I go down, I'm taking them down with me, especially Livia."

Giovanni solemnly nodded in agreement. He'd been there when that meeting had taken place. The current Archpriest of the Order of Athena was so excited that she could barely sit when the plans had been first laid out. Millions of new worshipers flocking to the gods, and her order specifically, from the thirteenth colony would have filled her coffers while they bled the planet dry. Not unnoticed by him was the look of pure hatred that flickered across her face when she had been told of the estimated numbers of monotheists that inhabited the planet. Pontifex Maximus Livia's whole body was screaming '_purge'_ and he suspected that that was the main reason why she had given Adar's and the Quorum's plan the official religious blessing. His opinion of her bordered on monstrous and idly he wondered what she was feeling now since this spectacular failure. She had been unusually quiet; just like a volcano ready to blow. He had no doubt that Capital Industries and the rest were quaking in their boots right about now. Most of them were already preparing to throw the blame on Adar.

"If the Tau'ri attacked us with only three ships, now, we might as well surrender."

Giovanni sat there stunned by the admission. "It can't be that bad!"

"Gio, the footage frightened the entire Colonial Defense Command. If they attacked with those nukes they have now, they might destroy half of the colonies before we would be able to contain them. I have sanctioned Gaius Baltar and his team to rush research on new weapons and computer technology to be integrated as soon as possible. I've ordered a more aggressive patrolling of the borders just in case the Tau'ri really did come through or from Cylon territory, can't afford to take the chance. The military's going to be crawling up my butt but we don't have a choice."

The President was spent now. He needed a bit of rest before his next confrontation with Livia. The witch had to be planning to push for his removal by a vote of no-confidence in the Quorum just to cover herself. But she hadn't taken into account the people who were strongly behind him both political and emotionally, and he needed to talk to his wife. Mesalynna always knew how to make him feel better. She was a slut he admitted, but she was a political animal and he always took her advice. Besides, he wasn't much better at fidelity than she was so it didn't matter – as long as neither one of them got caught publicly.

"What about the incoming fleet?"

"I'll deal with that," dismissed Adar. "And Livia, if she wants to shift the blame well, let her try."

_**Athenia City**_

_**Caprica Command and Control Centre**_

_**Castor Security complex Alpha **_

_**Level Twenty-three**_

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"The worst of it is over, Steven" Admiral Corman announced. "Every once in a while it seems like it's trying to come back, but I'm feeling better every day."

Admirals Robert 'Bob' Corman and Steven Blake followed by seven high ranking aides stopped at the elevator. Two Colonial marines in full combat-dress snapped to, pulled their weapons and pointed said weapons at their superiors."

"Name and identification, Sirs," the larger of the two marines demanded. "Please speak into the microphone slowly."

Corman grabbed the huge microphone and spoke. "Admiral Robert Corman. Identification Caprica-Seven-Seven-Three-Delta-Two-Zero-Zero-Eight."

"Admiral Steven Blake. Identification Caprica-Nine-Seven Eight-Sigma-Eight-Seven-One-One."

"Voice print and identiscan codes are confirmed. Please place your hand on the scanners, one at a time, Sirs," the same marine ordered.

Corman placed his hand on the scanner. The instant he did so, the scanner activated, its sensor light moving up and down slowly picking up hand print patterns, confirming the identity of the hand's owner after about thirty seconds. Blake repeated the action.

"Thank you, Sirs. Now please roll up your left sleeve."

Both men did so, each of the revealing small vaccination marks at least three weeks old.

"Thank you. You have access to the elevators. Your aides will follow as soon as they complete their Ident checks," the same marine announced. He snapped a salute as the two men entered the elevator.

The door closed and they began to descend.

"Howard?"

"Coughing his lungs out," was Blake's solemn reply. "I'm betting he won't make it."

"The gods help him," Corman whispered. "I know what he's going through."

Silently, he cursed the family of the POW whose diseased body had started this plague in the first place. The vaccination mark he had on his arm, in his case was more for show than anything else. He had already had the fever plague and had recovered although he felt aged by ten years. The vaccination was given to him, just in case. None of the doctors believed it was necessary but for political reasons, the mark was sported by everyone including the survivors who developed the disease early. Better to have the vaccination rather than be perceived as a threat to his family and those under his command.

The elevator stopped.

"Level seventeen. Please remove all clothing and personal objects and place them in the receptacle provided."

"I hate this part," Blake muttered as he complied. "Another reason to kill all of those Tau'ri." Naked, they were hit with a nasty smelling decontaminant spray. Completely soaked, they toweled off. Both men now put on the clothing provided. Then the elevator continued to the twenty-third level. "At least this gives the people down there some measure of protection."

The doors opened and the two men stepped out. The marines saluted the two men.

"Sir, your aides will be arriving in eight minutes."

"Thank you, soldier," Corman said.

Both men were immediately joined by Frederick Jamison, a high ranking member of the Quorum and a staunch adversary of President Adar. He shook his head as he smiled at the two men. "Generals, glad you could make it."

The marine in front of the three men turned. If you will follow me, Sirs?"

The three men and one female marine walked down the gray corridors to a large pressure door. The huge circular door was sixteen feet thick designed to resist a nuclear strike. The code was punched in and the door slowly opened.

"Welcome to CASTOR."

***

"Operation CASTOR, Mister Jamison, is our first line of defense against the Tau'ri," Admiral Corman said as they walked through the huge complex. "Information is power and here is where every bit of data we received from our recon probes and ship transmissions is stored. There is a copy of everything stored at the Pollux sister site. There are dozens of personnel here, divided into three main sections. The first section, section Alpha focuses on the current overall political structure of the Tau'ri specifically and the Earthers in general. Beta section is dedicated to the analysis of all things military from overall history tactics and structure, to weapons capability, to morale and religion. Gamma section catches everything else including geography, history and nature of the planet. What the Tau'ri are is all here."

Jamison was not impressed. "I've read the report and its summary, and that's why I'm here. There was so much butt-covering in it, it should have been written on tissue paper. With all the accumulated data we have on those people how did we get it so wrong? How did we become the laughing stock of the Tau'ri not to mention our own people?" He watched as the other officers and handful of civilian specialists listened in. "I'll tell you why. Because in retrospect we concentrated on what we thought we needed to see. We looked for a limited number of ships, possibly no more than five and that's what we saw. We expected a somewhat primitive but beautiful world and that is what we saw. When we expected that the Earther reunionists would rise up and overthrow their oppressors, we assumed and looked no further. We looked for colonies and found none and assumed that there were none even though we were told that there were. Because we found nothing we assumed that they were alone and we followed that assumption. Seven hundred pages and we have only three concrete pieces of evidence on these people!" He looked at the two Admirals. "We saw what we wanted to see, and all of it was wrong! We used every bit of intelligence data we had when we went to liberate Earth and nothing, nothing we encountered was expected. I understand what happened in hindsight, gentlemen. We're all at fault here and now we're paying for it. We looked at things through colored glasses. And Adar," he whispered, "is making it worse. He's distorting everything and even if it were possible to make peace with the Tau'ri, the people would never stand for it now. They want blood." He glared at the officers momentarily as the hatred for what the enemy had done threatened to spill over. "_I _want blood."

"Then it's same to assume that the Tau'ri will never surrender under these conditions."

"I agree and they're going to come after us because they don't have a choice," Jamison said. "That's what we'd do. They know we have the resources to eventually wear them down but if we can't understand them, anticipate the way they think, it's going to be a blood bath. I've seen some of the reports coming in from the lead elements. Our navy is demoralized and frankly scared of these Tau'ri. The marines are demoralized and angry that they didn't get into the fight. Gentlemen, this has got to change. Every opinion I've gotten has come to the same conclusion. Every day Earth is getting stronger and if something is not done soon, they may well slaughter us all with those hellish weapons. I have heard reports that Admirals and Generals are advocating a scorched colony protocol. We're talking annihilation and not liberation. That is a fundamental change, gentlemen. We need to start from the beginning and use every bit of captured intelligence we have from those probes, find me anyone that would be sympathetic to us and anyone that would allow us to whisper in their ears."

"Yes, Sir. We have been focusing on this fact for the last couple of months, even though we've had this data for almost five months before the start of the war. We have more probes in the sector but they're useless until we can retrieve them. The biggest problem that we've faced is the translation of their communication transmission into something compatible with ours. Their communications system is far more complex than we initially believed. We were never able to break any of their military stations so we were forced to extrapolate. And the huge amount of data being shunted around their globe at any given second is staggering. We're estimating that their average amount of data being transmitted at any given time is about twelve to sixteen times more than Picon and Caprica combined at their peaks and that may be underestimated."

"That much?" asked a shocked Jamison. He had read the report but it hadn't sunk in.

"At least that much," Blake confirmed. "And that's just what we were able to capture. The second problem is that Earth has so many languages that separating and distinguishing one from another have been extremely difficult."

"But we're able to communicate with them," Jamison said. "I believed they had a unified language."

"You would think so, but it's not true. The langua-basic we're most familiar with is American North, and its twin Englanda Britannia. Our Intel suggests that the Britannia is the original version of the language, several other variations exists which also suggest that their languages were modified due to the devastation of their world by some unknown enemy. The other languages we're still working on. They have one language I believe called Chinese." He shuddered, not even wanting to go there. "America North is the most familiar to us. It's as if the different languages of the Colonies, like Gemonese and Caprican, have all existed on one single planet and they all divided and multiplied to an absurd degree. It looks like this language is used the way we use Federal Koiné as the common language. They are apparently the most powerful sub-tribe and Doctor Jackson used that language and gave us the first contact protocols using that language, which was most helpful by the way in helping us to understand their communications."

"What's this about thousands being killed on the Katlean base destroyed by the _Prometheus_? I was never informed of any details of the attack, only the destruction of the ships attempting to capture Tau'ri vessel. This is the first time I've heard details and Adar," he sneered, "didn't say anything to the quorum about that."

Blake blushed red. "The President was given the full details of the encounter, which did not mention any attacks on any of our bases by the _Prometheus_. However, certain high ranking members of the Quorum and others pushing for the liberation added more to the official report than was factual. The forward base suffered life-support failure nearly two weeks before the _Prometheus_ ever contacted us."

Now it was Jamison's turn to flush. "They used the loss of all of those brave men and women to help justify this war?"

"I am not at liberty to say, Sir."

He didn't have to, thought a thoroughly humiliated Jamison. Apparently, some of the members of the Quorum knew what really happened and influenced the rest, he included. He believed what Adar and his cronies had told them as it helped them justify what they all wanted to do in the first place. All of them, himself included, believed that the war would have been at best a footnote in history once Earth had joined the twelve. At this point he couldn't oppose Adar during a time of war without being politically skewered and surrender to these maniacs was out of the question. The Colonial defenses as they were now were apparently not enough. He was an advocate for more allocations for the military and when the time came he'd make sure that the military would have everything they wanted. Adar knew that and had played him like a lyre.

***

The other aides had finally arrived stepping crisply behind their respective Admirals. Corman headed straight to Gamma Section. The entourage arrived and was greeted by senior analyst Thomas Norton, Gamma Section.

"That you for coming, Sirs," the man in his late forties said offering the three leaders a seat in from of a large table monitor which had to be almost thirty inches across.

It was the biggest computer monitor Corman had ever seen. When they were seated then he continued. "As you know Sirs, Gamma Section is tasked with the mission of identifying and separating historical documents and dispersing what is deemed relevant to the Division head and Colonial Intelligence. CI placed information gathered and deciphered here as low priority." 

"A mistake we're correcting," he heard Jamison mutter.

"Our initial reports indicated that Earth was very similar to Caprica in geography, climate and natural resources," Norton said. "However those initial reports may have severely underestimated the differences. What little detail that Gamma Section has continued to study indicates that Earth's resources are far richer than Caprica. They have more water than landmass."

"We are aware of that," Corman said. One look at the planet and anyone could see that

"Yes, Sir. However, the life in those oceans is more abundant and diverse than any of the twelve colony worlds. They have things there that we have never seen before, creatures large enough to swallow several people called whales. But some of the slightly smaller creatures have teeth that will shred flesh to the bone if given half a chance. They have things that float and have long thin tendrils that if you touch them will paralyze and kill you in an instant. And they're still finding new species of aqua-life after all of these years." He shook his head. "The data is frustratingly incomplete and the translation is sometimes spotty if not in America North. The number of transmissions that overlay each other are so compressed that we're have a difficult time separating where one section begins and ends. They have a wealth of what we assumed were entertainment channels, deemed as unimportant, however some of our analysts disagree as to what is entertainment and what isn't."

"They are an isolated, almost alien people and that they would have a lot of entertainment stations is understandable however, can you be a bit clearer?" Jamison asked.

"Yes, Sir. We were positive that the 'Trek to the Stars' programming was strictly entertainment. However, the more we were able to isolate related material, the more we found and the less positive we are of our initial presumptions. The amount data discovered about 'trek' has been staggering. For all intent and purposes, what we're seeing is beginning to look more like a historical anthology of Tau'ri or Earther space travel. Books, radio, technological information, documentaries, historical references reaching back decades exist in their databases, we are unable to get hold of any of them as of the current time but if these transmissions are real then we are in for a very, very rough time."

That perked Corman's interest as he hadn't heard of the arguments raging among Gamma section recently. "So now you're saying that this isn't entertainment?"

"We're not sure," Norton admitted, something he hated doing in front of his superiors most of which were demanding information from him as fast as possible. "We can see a progression of the different vessels over a specific time period. If we have translated it correctly, then we have a history of these people and their ships over a period of perhaps a hundred years. We've uncovered far too much data. Bits and pieces have even shown up on their History Channel."

Quickly he showed the observers a view of several ships from something small and rather primitive to obviously more advanced versions that looked deadly in their predatory beauty. The space stations ranged from primitive docks to things of graceful beauty. And the way their weapons worked and the way they moved showed more than just a passing resemblance to the Earther warships. When the short presentation was over, everybody watching was thoughtful. "Again this is most probably entertainment; however there are small observations that our analysts have pointed out that contradicted our initial findings. The phone system they use both in the 'entertainment' and in many of the other video segments we've extracted have the common fact that they are physically smaller than anything we have and they are completely wireless. The way their ships travel faster than light is very similar to how the _Prometheus_ fled during first contact. Their energy weapons and missiles are similar."

"So you're saying that these people have a massive number of ships with energy weapons?" a horrified Jamison asked. "If true, why did they only have one of their ships?"

Norton was about to answer when Blake interrupted.

"The people of Earth could have been involved in some sort of war," he speculated echoing the report. "Most of their advanced technology was lost and they may well be on the verge of rediscovering those lost sciences. And they are rediscovering those lost sciences very quickly. That would explain how their ships can move so quickly without injury to their crews, as well as their energy shielding and their energy weapon."

Corman who was a step behind following that same train of thought, blanched. "That's a plausible explanation as to why they're so primitive and advance at the same time. That also means we may have less time than we thought."

"Yes, Sir," Norton said solemnly. "That's one theory but there is another as well. If you will look at the screen?"

There was an image of a huge spaceship hovering over the entirety of a city. Another image show it attacking and utterly devastating the Earth city in fire. Another scene showed Earth fighters battling the enemy, their missiles being deflected by the enemy's defensive shields that covered both the smaller fighters and massive city destroyers. Without sound it seemed like a documentary than anything else. The onlookers hadn't seen anything like it. It looked absolutely real and none of them had any doubts that what they were seeing wasn't real.

"And that's our other theory," Norton continued. "Earth was invaded sometime in its past and they have been back-engineering the captured technology. We don't however have enough data to back up or discard either theory."

"But this could simply be entertainment," Major Johnson, one of the aides stated.

"Until we know more, I wouldn't bet my life on it."

"It's too bad we couldn't get boots on the ground to find out what's true or not. The marines could have cleared up this mystery," Johnson said. Like the rest of the Colonial Marine Corps, the aide was still smarting at the fact that they hadn't been allowed to engage the Earthers on the ground.

"If the marines had made it to Earth and survived, we wouldn't be having this conversation," Blake snapped. "Still, maybe it's a good idea to step back and gather more intelligence before we rush in."

"Sirs," Norton said. "Again I stress, that the images we are seeing are the ones that took us months to filter properly. There is more to this, possibly even completed programming but we're not confident as to what is or is not part of that particular program, although we're pretty good at guessing and identifying certain patterns. News related material is simpler to de-construct and then re-construct. There are other considerations we need to look at. From what we've seen, it's clear that the Earthers have some problems with nature and biology. We've seen glimpses of their weather patterns. Tornados and Hurricanes that rival anything seen on Caprica. We've seen erupting volcanoes, floods, starvation and massive fires covering entire forests. And they have problems with land creatures."

"Land creatures?" Jamison asked.

"Yes, sir, we saw footage of their version of the Colonial marines locked in battle with a –a thing. It was huge, about the size of a thirty-story building. Someone had a handheld motion picture camera of some sort and captured the battle; amazing little device really. We estimate that it's no larger than a pair of hands. Other civilians were across the street screaming and the marines were advancing on that walking nightmare in the middle of the road with some type of mobile armored vehicle. Bravest thing I've ever seen, going up with something like that with nothing but a rifle." Johnson glared at him. "And all of them were letting loose with everything they had. The camera was shaky," the analysis said. "Between the shooting and the creature tearing up buildings, I'm surprised that whoever was shooting got any usable footage at all."

He motioned to the monitor, pressed a button and the video started. The footage was grainy like everything else but it was clear enough to stun the Colonials watching it. They saw a creature whose mouth was filled with hideous teeth standing in between and tearing apart the huge skyscrapers while bombs, bullets, and missiles hit it, apparently bouncing off its thick hide. There were maybe three people trapped in the crossfire with the fourth obviously documenting what was going on. There was running, the cameraperson apparently favoring survival over quality footage. The civilians were jumping into some underground shelter or structure. There was static and very little sound but every person's mind watching the color screen filled in what had to be the monster screaming its defiance as its foot crushed the street beneath it. It seemed preparing to attack as the image cut off.

"Entertainment?" someone, one of the senior aides suggested, hoping to the gods that it was true. "Has to be. Nothing like that has the right to exist in real life."

"Looked real enough to me," Admiral Corman said. He looked grim. "What a frightening world. It's unfortunate the Thirteenth Tribe settled on such a hostile planet. Why these people haven't decided to join us so that we can help them is beyond my understanding. O'Neill and his people must be insane to try to go this alone."

"Insane of not, from everything we're seeing the ground fight for Earth would have been far worse than we might have prepared for. Their communications systems are superior to ours. Their phones are so small they could hide them anywhere. They could use those micro cameras to spy on us and we'd never know. Our forces might run into a nest of those things."

"Some of the phones appear to have built in cameras inside of them," Norton said. "How they do this is beyond anything we've ever seen. Their computer sciences developed in an entirely different direction than ours did. We need more information and more people to analyze what we find. We're looking at the interesting material but we're missing the smaller, most likely more important things. For example, did you know that they developed suits and ties almost identical to Caprica standard? We don't know how they did it or why but those small almost trivial details may determine the outcome of this war."

"If we're right about any of this the Earthers have lived a violent life," said Jamison. "If they have been invaded or if they have lost their heritage through internal conflicts, it's no wonder why they are so hostile about joining us. They're an isolated, paranoid world. They may be just as concerned about us attacking as we are about them attacking us. If we're the first contacts outside from a few of their own lost colonies they've seen since they restored their space sciences, then naturally we'd be frightening to them. Maybe they called the gods false because they believed that they were abandoned."

"I don't think so," countered Corman. "The last thing we need to do is to feel pity for them, Sir. They did everything they could to keep us from reaching orbit at their world. Consensus was that if we achieve orbital superiority then the fight would have been over. We believed that they wouldn't have dared to continue to resist us when we had control of their skies. However, because of their actions at the Khthonic System and their attempts to kill every one of our ships regardless if they were retreating or not, those beliefs have been re-evaluated. What they did at Picon and this plague…" He hesitated. There was a feeling of intense anger at the ease that he and the CDF had been set up. The POW had allowed himself to get caught so that he could spread this plague. It was a simple, sinister plan that worked all too well and as a result uncounted millions were infected and dying with more numbers being added every day despite precautions. "They need to be put down like mad dogs. When they come after us, they won't understand the concept of restraint."

"They have to throw everything they had to hit us here," Jamison said. "They wouldn't dare go up against the combined forces of the colonies in our home system."

Blake wasn't so sure. "Quorum Delegate Jamison," the admiral started. "I'd like to agree with you but you weren't there looking up when they were using their heavy nukes in orbit to shred the anchorage. We were actually hoping that it was the Cylons because we were more confident that we could handle them rather than the Tau'ri weapons! They have no respect for life as their actions have shown. Feeling pity for those people will get us killed," he finished while Jamison slowly nodded as he digested the arguments presented to him.

"On some level, we continue to think that these people are Colonials like us. It's not true. Even their religion is antithetical to everything we know to be true. The Tau'ri's religious beliefs are based for the most part on monotheism, a single god as opposed to the true religion. Much of the broadcasts we've been able to translate agree on this one fact. There are exceptions such as in the land of India. But their religion is radically different from the beliefs of the true gods. These facts alone, taken with what Scholar Jackson said, proves how alien these people are."

Norton watched the exchange with detached interest. The officers were correct in their assessments about the Tau'ri. Gamma Section had been the first to see the starvation and brutality of the Earthers against one another and he wanted nothing to do with those people. They were also the first to see actual footage of the massacre at Sol. The destruction of Battlestars being vaporized by single nukes terrified him at a visceral level. That battle had been too easy in the favor of the enemy and he could see no reason why the enemy wouldn't come for them. Furthermore, there were Cylons waiting at the gates making this a possible two-sided war, on they'd lose and if he were in charge, he'd order a blanket nuking of the entire planet Earth while they had the chance even if they had some of the most beautiful beaches he'd ever seen.


	17. Chapter Fifteen

_**Capital City**_

_**Caprica**_

_**Twelve Colonies**_

During the prelude of the attack by the _Odyssey_ on the Picon Anchorage, a number of small stealth probes had been released into the Cyrannus system by the battlecruiser. The destruction of the Colonial Space Station and the horrific aftermath had allowed for the tiny crafts to move into pre-programmed positions close by the major planets undetected by Colonial Patrols. From their positions they were able to, on a regular basis, download the entire databases of filched communiqués, television broadcasts, military and civilian radio chatter and scans of the entire system. The data was shunted via subspace bursts, to the Tau'ri satellites set up within the area designated specifically for this job, each of which dropped their information into the receiver stations at the SGC and Area 51.

All the intelligence gathered within these bursts was stored en masse at the Crucible deep underground.

The probes were an incredible asset to the SGC allowing every move the Colonials made to be analysed to the nth degree by the men and women assigned to the code breaking and Intel departments worldwide. Already every ship movement in the triple star system was being watched with interest as increasing numbers of warships and fighters were activated or rushed through construction allowing for the numbers of losses taken by the Liberation Fleet to be made up and in some cases improved upon. However, even as this information was being gathered, a second set of data dumps were being carefully cracked by the immensely powerful crystalline supercomputers dedicated to the electronic warfare sections of Homeworld Security. At the lowest level of the massive underground base a dozen of the best code crackers in the world had finally completed their mission.

"This is getting repetitive."

"Come on, this is the best part of the job! The quicker we get into their channels the quicker we get the bonus and time off and give the job over to Tolliver and his morons," one of the men said. "Although I don't think it matters anymore."

The man sat up straight at his console and began hammering away at the twin keyboards in front of his monitors. Strings of coding began to break apart and reassemble overwriting the original codes with text and numbers recognisable to them as Colonial Standard.

"Hoskins, heads up! We need the translation matrix online."

"It's already online. Just feed it through."

"Christ almighty," the chief cried out. "It's worked! Oh shit…" Pressing his hand to his headset he activated the radio's tiny transmitter. "Command this is Takedown section."

"We read you, Takedown," answered the voice from the Crucible's command section.

"Sir, we've done it. The last of the confidential codes have been broken," the Chief replied hastily. "The entire classified network is at our disposal and Sir, that last group of codes we were unable to identify? We now have total access to the Colonial President's secure communications line to their Admiralty."

"Repeat that, Takedown," a deeper authoritarian voice spoke up.

"G…General O'Neill, we… we've managed to break the last of the wireless command codes of the Colonial high command. The entire network is opened to us. We've also been able to crack the Presidential wireless line to their command stations on the other planets."

"Excellent work, Takedown. Send up the information ASAP. We don't have long." O'Neill replied. "One you have ended your shift, make sure the shift supervisor reports to me as soon as he's off duty."

"Understood Command," the chief replied. "Sir, I have to warn you however that once we have finished setting the information into the relays and inputting the finished codes into the system as well as setting it up for use that their rotating command and control codes will render this crack null and void within six to eight hours. We're also looking at them rewriting their codes and us having to begin this again, which will mean several weeks minimum before we have any new Intel."

"Understood, Takedown. Keep at it we'll need the rest of the command channels as soon as possible. Command Out."

"What do you think they'll use the comms system for?" asked one of the code crackers. "I mean as soon as anything gets transmitted they'll know that something's up especially as it'll probably be in English. Even if they do manage to tie in the translators with the main systems we don't have authentication codes to make them do anything."

"I'm guessing some kind of psychological work," another replied.

"What, like showing them Barney?"

"Dave, you really need to get out more."

***

"Mr. President, we have a positive hack into the Colonial president's communications system," Major Kent of the Crucible announced. "Unfortunately, the codes will only be active for six more hours. If we want to pull this off it will have to be now, or again in several weeks and that's only if we can break the next coding."

"It's something that needs doing, Major. Bring the probe online and break the encryption. It's time for me to have a little chat with my erstwhile other within the colonies," Hayes replied. "Plug the transmission into the Crucible, the SGC, the POW camps and the IOA intranet. I want as many people as possible to hear this."

"We could interrupt most of the world's tele-visual and radio-based communications, allow for the entire planet to see the conversation. Same with at least three of the Colonials worlds."

"Hmm," Hayes mused. "How quickly could you override Caprica's main broadcasts and transmit our own?"

"We're ready to do so, on your order, Sir. We've been modifying the software on the probes for a wide spread dissemination of the transmission. The entirety of their capital city, the surrounding countryside and any ships in the way will receive the transmission from Probe Two. Probe Three we're realigning to inform the area around Picon and the survivors of their attack fleet. As for Probe One, we are leaving as is."

"In case the others are found."

"That's about the size of it," Kent replied. "We're ready when you are."

"Put the call through, Major."

The immensely powerful planet-based subspace transmitters sent the open transmission through hyperspace to the probes scattered throughout the Colonial system. As programmed, one of those probes linked into the communications line between Picon and Caprica, one that was still active and in use by the survivors still on the planet's surface and one that was easily hacked by the Tau'ri's best Electronic Warfare officers.

Dozens of miles below the probe a single red telephone began to ring.

_**Presidential Bunker**_

_**Colonial President's Officers**_

_**Caprica City**_

_**Caprica**_

_*Buzz*_

Adar looked angrily at the telephone. His hotlines had been ringing off the hook for days sending him more information, requests and communications from across the entire system. A thousand and one things were dividing his attention shortening his already threadbare temper. Illnesses, shortages, the demand for new and improved ships and defences from all sides, not to mention increased interference from the quorum and religious sections of the colonies, were wearing him down. Worse yet had been the time since the last attack by the Tau'ri. The waiting had begun to grate on the people. The mood had darkened, with many counting the next day as if it would be the last and he couldn't blame them. However, it was costing the economy once again causing runs on some supplies as more and more pilots refused to fly in case they were caught in battles between the two sides. With so much going into relief and rebuilding efforts, the common people of the colonies were losing out. Worse yet his own people on Caprica were rumbling about his actions leading up to the war and afterwards.

He had managed to empty his offices of anyone except his direct aides for a few hours to allow him to catch his breath. Never in his life had he expected to find that he would wish to have forgone the presidency. Direct orders had everyone bar the Chiefs of Staff and the Vice-President to kept away from him a while so he could breathe. Unfortunately it seemed that one of them must have been contacting him through his main offices high above the bunker. Slamming his hand down onto one of the dozen phones on the desk he growled into the phone.

"Yes, Miss Alexander, what is it?"

"_You seem to have mistaken me for someone else, President Adar."_ The voice on the other end of the phone was not the usual happy tone of his redheaded secretary/mistress but that of an amused male. _"I'm afraid that you won't be able to get through to anyone on this line until we conclude our little chat."_

"Who are you? How the frak did you get onto this line?" Adar shouted into the phone, his baring lost completely by the sound of an unknown man on the end of the line.

"_As we've never been formally introduced," _said the man on the phone. Adar couldn't quite place the accent. _"I decided that it might in fact be time to. My name is Henry Hayes President of the United States of America and spokesperson for the majority of the Planet Earth."_

"What kind of joke is this! Whatever it is, it's not funny in the slightest!"

"_Its no joke Adar,"_ Hayes answered_. "At this moment, we control your presidential lines and the direct lines in and out of that nice big house of yours. It's time that we had a talk, Mr President. Or can I call you Dick?"_ Hayes asked. His voice was dripping with sarcasm that his counterpart could literally feel over the communication's line. _"You see 'Dick'," _Hayes continued_, "you and your fleet have been insulting and downright unfriendly to the people of my world and so I've decided that it's time to sort this out once and for all."_

"I see. What exactly would you like to talk about, _Henry?_"

***

Already President Adar had now placed his line on speaker phone, activating the clandestine recording system before hitting the alert button that would signal the secretaries, aides and any guards in the area that assistance was needed. In seconds, his security as well as numerous aides was filling the offices. A few higher placed ones were using other phones calling Colonial Intelligence.

Entering the Presidential office, Jeffery Korbynes got over his shock within a matter of moments. What was happening was impossible. However, one look in the eyes of his President convinced him that he didn't believe this was a hoax. "This is Agent Korbynes," he hissed over his wireless communications device. The walkie-talkie produced static for a couple of seconds before he received a response.

"_Stanchion here, sir."_

We have a security breach. I want an immediate lockdown on the Presidential building-no one in or out. I want everybody, telephone and wireless line identified and accounted for in the next ten minutes."

"_What's the nature of the security breach?"_ The voice on the other side was all business.

"Nature to be determined. Presidential government Communications have been compromised. Trace it. Phone line Caprica One."

"_Understood. We're on it."_

***

"_Well _'Dick'_, I would like to know what exactly you and your people were_ _thinking when you decided to attack my planet and kill more than a hundred million of our people without a second thought?!_ _Not only that, but you then proceeded to send another group of ships to make an attempt to nuke an entire continent! Now I know that we never attacked your worlds nor did we try to make you bow down to us. So what's the thinking here?"_

Adar stood up still talking as he approached the door before the guards could break in silencing them with a hand gesture, "What are you talking about? I never authorised a second strike against your population. This is another transparent attempt to prove that we're the bad guys again, '_Henry'_," he answered getting comfortable now with the reality that someone had compromised security to a degree unheard of. Quietly, he ordered the secretary to take notes of what was being spoken even as he recorded the conversation. Guards were ordered to fetch any and all ministers or high ranking officers within the building. "Have Baltar and Corman get here directly," he whispered. "I want to know what the hell is going on around here." He focused on his counterpart once more speaking to him.

"_The footage we have of a stripped down Battlestar says otherwise. It was a simple attack that murdered another of our cities for no other reasons other than they seemed to want to. It's fortunate for us that we managed to blow a hole through that ship. The ship ran with its tail between its legs but believe me, 'Dick', that commander if we find them will be put on trial for her actions as will any of the crew that have survived."_

Adar replied as he sat down. "I never ordered the attack on your world. Anything that was done against orders should and will be considered, and if necessary prosecuted by our own people in accordance with Colonial law. Your illegal government doesn't have that right, Henry."

"_We have every right, Dick. A Colonial ship under your colours fired on civilian targets and murdered civilian people on our planet. Any and every country on this world will be more than willing to attest to the fact that the country that was fired on, will be given the lead on prosecuting the captain and crew of the Battlestar Pegasus and whatever ships were under her command at the time of the attack."_

Adar looked around his office as more and more personnel began to arrive. Aides and secretaries of all kinds were furiously scribbling down notes on pads while other personnel were setting up a wiretap to trace the telephone call. With luck the ship or whatever the Tau'ri were using to hack into the President's private lines would be quickly found and cornered by the orbital defences.

***

Adar was angry. If what this man said was true, then no wonder they had struck back with such viciousness. Given the humility of the defeat by a handful of Tau'ri warships against the fleet, he could understand a Colonial officer striking out in justifiable retaliation. But such actions went against his agenda of bringing the Thirteenth colony back with a minimum of violence as had been the original plan. "I want to know who the hell sent the orders for the Pegasus to attack the Earth again. Find whoever were the last officers to see her and order them here ASAP." Adar ordered quietly before turning back to his desk. "The Colonies don't recognise your laws and court, Henry. By Colonial law you have no jurisdiction as you represent an illegal government that is not recognized by Colonial law. Do the right thing and if you do find them send them back our way. It'll be easier on you in the long run. Besides the ship's Commander is more or less following orders against an illegal and hostile colony. Can you really put someone in the dock for that, Mr President?"

"_If one of our officers nuked innocent civilians, I'd pull the switch myself."_

Pulling the switch? He wasn't sure what that meant but he got the inference. "Then maybe you can give us the Captain who so graciously decided to destroy one of our planets by causing debris to rain down on one of our most heavily inhabited worlds. After all, he murdered a great many more people than a single one of our missiles could possibly do to your world!"

"_The difference there 'Dick', is that your people deliberately targeted entire areas of our world with planet killing missiles en masse. Apparent your policy is that if you couldn't have it, no one should. We struck a military outpost and military ships only. Collateral damage has been part of warfare for a long time and if we could have prevented the destruction of that world, then, by God, we would have done so. But unlike your people we would have helped to stop the catastrophe."_

"Oh, frak." Adar heard one of the aides mutter to him. He almost had the fool kicked out but the aide's next words stopped him. "The media are playing this live. Every single channel is playing this conversation word for word. The Tau'ri must be transmitting it across the entire system. There's no delay! Their ship must be only a few million miles above the planet," he hissed.

Adar stifled a curse.

***

The Battlestar Naxos and its combat group of ten heavy warships tasked to protect the Colony homeworlds and specifically Caprica went on high alert.

"This is not a drill! All Vipers scramble. Repeat, enemy vessel suspected in close orbit of Caprica."

"What the frak is going on?" demanded Commander Adrien as he entered the bridge. '_Couldn't even have a ten minute break'_ he thought bitterly.

"Sir," his XO started. "We're receiving a transmission from an unknown source that has compromised communications on Caprica."

'_That can't be right, in fact it's impossible'_ he thought. "To all ships. Commence active DRADIS sweep. Probable hostile in immediate areas sections Dashu one through eight. If target acquired, weapons free, repeat weapons free. Do not target, repeat do not target civilian craft unless confirmed enemy lock. All ships acknowledge."

"Our squadron is acknowledging."

"Good. Get me Caprica Defence Command."

"Commander, Admiral Blake is on the line," the XO responded. The surprise in his voice was evident.

If Blake was on the line then the alert was very serious and very real. He glanced at communications and blanched. On almost every single civilian and military channel a conversation was being broadcast between the President and another man. Adrien swore under his breath. Whatever was happening this was real. A Tau'ri ship was likely in the immediate area and couldn't even be seen which meant that it had a very impressive stealth field. His ships could well be under their guns right now and if they fired first one of his ships was dead.

The story of the initial liberation fleet's slaughter had reach most of the higher level officers despite the clampdown by Colonial Defence Command, the word had gotten out: small ships with energy shields able to deflect nukes, energy weapons and super nukes, fighting capability beyond visual range, the one ship that literally destroyed the Picon anchorage and incidentally the planet itself.

Bio-weapons.

These thrice accursed Earth people were extremely dangerous and needed to be put down like rabid dogs.

_This is Admiral Steven Blake. Identification Caprica-Nine-Seven Eight-Sigma-Eight-Seven-One-One. Confirm."_

"Identification confirmed, sir."

_Commander, six minutes ago the President of the Twelve Colonies received a telephone call on his secured line. The caller has confirmed himself as being President Hayes of Earth. This call is happening real time. Your orders are to find that probe or more likely a ship and incapacitate or if necessary destroy it. Use all means necessary to acquire or destroy. The second defence squadron inbound on your location." _

"Yes, Admiral."

The bridge was silent.

"All Alert Vipers are away, sir."

"Maintain high alert. Find that ship!"

***

The President remained stone-faced but the fact he was being played by someone far better at this game than he was galling. This had to be a well thought out plan, months in the making at the least and likely with inside help.

"You destroyed a planet and its inhabitants," Adar all but shouted. "There were billions on that world and a very small minority have survived or been saved by the actions of our own people. You complain that you had a few bombs hit your world when you have ravaged one of ours and caused untold pain on the rest of what we have left. Millions more are dying because of the damage you caused to our infrastructure and civilian facilities. That world held the majority of our best and brightest medical facilities and now we have less and less to treat the survivors. You have the nerve gall to take about a few lost cities when you infected the Colonies with a bio weapon!"

"Sir, you need to keep him talking their transmission point must be extremely close," a military attaché whispered. Adar nodded while Hayes screamed in his ear.

"_Bullshit! You have eleven worlds and the resources of God knows how many trillions of dollars, credits or whatever you use, and billions of people that can help the injured or sick. Yet you won't because it doesn't fit into your world view. We've seen your worlds Mr. President, and the peoples you claim to be held together so well by your Colonial Dictate. But for all your flowery words we know your worlds can't stand each other. The fabric of your society is held together by fear and fear that we will win this war is tearing your society apart right now. That's why you hate us, because we refused to bow down to your petty dictates. Your grand ignorance convinces you that you have every right to encompass our world without our say so."_

"As the elected officials of the Twelve Colonies this government has the right to lead the entirety of the human race in all its versions. The Thirteenth Colony as we now know is your world is legally under our control at all times. The bastardisation of your race by outside influences has led to us having to take actions against the illegal and frankly incompetent governments of the countries of your planet."

"_We didn't elect you to your positions. You want to force our world to join you for whatever misguided reasons your burbling on about but the fact is that you have no clue what Earth is and you're angry that we won't simply bow down to you and your people and make it easy for you," _Hayes replied. _ "You've been told the history of this world and the simple fact we aren't your thirteenth colony but you don't seem to care. What you seem to have failed to understand 'Dick', is that the Tau'ri aren't the overlords as you seem to be trying to convince your people."_

"Ahh, yes. I wondered when this would come up. The fact is 'Henry', that we are well aware of the so-called 'truth' you're claiming about your world. The very idea that you believe yourselves to be the first people as you call it is laughable at best and sacrilegious at worst. You and your cabal have deluded your own people, lied to them and poisoned the minds against their own brethren so that you can stay in power."

Adar answered quickly to every word of his adversary. It wasn't just his phone that have been compromised but every single channel. He was walking in a minefield. Every word, every breath had to be perfect.

"_Illegal? Cabal? You really are some arrogant sons of guns, aren't you?" _Hayes snapped_. __"Let me enlighten you to something. Earth, my Earth isn't some long-lost colony you're convinced we are. We have geological and evolutionary history going back forty thousand years, evidence mankind and this means you as well, originated on Earth, not Kobol. In fact, when we presented this evidence in PEACEFUL FIRST CONTACT, your military tried to illegally confiscate an Earth vessel. You fired on the ship first, despite what you've told your colonies and yes we heard every lie you told after the Picon strike, and they defended themselves, embarrassed your military in the process and got away despite your best efforts. There are colonies of Humans spread throughout the galaxy and that not even half the story. In fact, Kobol was most likely a transplanted colony originating from Earth." _He paused for a second._ "Shocking, isn't it? __Even if we were that Thirteenth tribe of yours, how could you possibly think that after three or four thousand years you could come back and try to absorb us back into the fold just because we 'used to be' part of your tribe? It-is- ludicrous- thinking and smacks of arrogance beyond belief. You think we would bow down to you because we're supposed to? Others have tried," _he informed Adar._ "They've learned the hard way that we bow down to no one._

"_Again your people seem to have been misinformed you of the facts. We never claimed anything of the kind. The name Tau'ri comes from our enemies and then by our allies, both of which are magnitudes of times older than the combined ages of both our strains of humanity. Those races know a hell of a lot more about the universe than any of us could ever hope to. Your arrogance and vanity makes you dangerous to yourself more than us and sooner or later you'll face someone that won't take the actions of your people as kindly as we have. You should be thankful, 'Dick'. I have ordered a measured response against a threat to our sovereignty. Anyone else around here would have simply wiped all life from your worlds and left nothing but rubble and corpses across every planet, outpost and ship you have_." There was a strange sound in the background that Adar couldn't identify._ "In case you're wondering about that noise you just heard, that's me leaning back in my chair. The fact is, Mr President that neither of our peoples will allow for us to continue in the way we have been. We want to keep our freedom and you want nothing more than a vassal state to improve a handful of worlds as the cost of one other, your own little empire. There is no way that Earth's people will allow for what is basically a slave state to exist on this world. Most have fought too long and too had against that kind of thinking to allow it to reassert itself. We have a saying on this world , 'Never Again', which basically means that you have no chance converting Earth into another colony where you can bury your heels and strip of resources and technology."_

"I'm sure you believe everything you've just said, Henry," Adar said adding as much distaste and pity as he could muster through his growing anger. All I can ask if that you and your people come to your senses.The Quorum and the people won't allow for the heresy of a non-affiliated human world to sit out there and dictate its terms to them. We've fought and won our place here against ourselves and outside threats. Can you really sit there and say that we can't be allies? Both of us have those who fought and died to keep our planets secure. We'd be so much more if you would simply ally yourselves with your brothers and sisters allowing for a combined defence against any enemies that may decide to take us on. We can get over the incidents that have happened between us and continue on bringing every human world into a massive Colonial league protecting those that can't protect themselves. Isn't that what you and your people have wanted all these centuries, what your starships spent so long travelling from world to world trying to do before you fell into the barbaric state you're in now."

Hayes tried desperately to keep a straight face afraid that his humour would infect his voice too much. It seemed that intelligence had been correct after all and that the Colonials had picked up all kinds of signals. He also noticed how the man was intent on trying to keep him talking. But starships? Nah, couldn't be. But…

"_You're referring to Starfleet command?"_ he asked.

"We've seen your history, how you spread yourselves out among the stars. We've also seen how your alien enemies defeated you, pushing you back into a pre-industrial nation just now recovering. You are quite right that never again should be your adage, and that can only happen with the help of the colonies I do wish you could see that."

There was utter silence on the other end for perhaps ten seconds. Adar was completely elated. He'd struck a nerve. Starfleet Command. The words had gotten far more of a reaction than he had expected Hayes to show, incidentally proving that this was not a prank. But that held other implications that frightened him. This man had to be close possibly in orbit in some type of stealth ship. Aides and C.I. were furiously taking notes on the response of Hayes and the silence spoke volumes.

"_You really don't understand us, do you Dick? The people of our world don't want nor do they need your help. What you're doing is-illogical."_

Hayes was changing the subject, realized Adar as did the others in the room. More notes were taken. "We will not allow your people to continue to suffer the cruelties perpetrated by your governments. Your people will be liberated from the religious hypocrites that enslave your people and the government that has ruled them by fear."

"_We have stood on our own for over ten thousand years and we'll keep standing when your colonies have been turned to dust. You claim that we need you. The thing is, I think you need us. You need us to make your place in history. Not – going – to – happen. It's a shame that your little sneak attack succeeded so well but its affects are not what you expected. Understand this Adar, when you push us we'll push back and much harder than anything that you've face before. You think the Cylon war was bad. You have no idea what you've started." _Hayes sighed. _"I decided to try this communiqué in hopes that we could come to an amicable agreement between our worlds before we were forced to do something that 'you' might all regret. But I guess that isn't gonna happen, I can't say we didn't try."_

"You and the misguided leaders of your world are too proud to see that we don't want to continue to destroy the brave people of your forces. Give up now before we are forced to deal with you harshly and permanently. Your government is leading the people of the Thirteenth tribe to ruin. Surrender, come back and take your rightful place with your brethren."

Hayes finally let a smirk through. _"Dick, we're a technologically advanced world that has, I am proud to say, made up any losses that you had caused to our forces and introduced a hell of a lot of new tech to our world. Can you really say the same thing about your own? I tell you what, why don't you surrender to us and let us bring you into the galactic eye properly before you really piss off the wrong people, cos, I gotta tell you that we aren't even the biggest or nastiest people on the block."_

"We've seen what has been sent against you and the devastation that set your world back so many thousands of years. You don't have the ability anymore to hold onto your position nor your world if anything bigger comes along. Please understand Henry, I can only ask you one final time to accept your place as the Thirteenth Colony and to join us as together there's nothing that humanity can't do. There's no need to continue killing each other."

"_You keep saying that Dick, and maybe one day you might even believe it, but consider this. We fought off enemies time and again throughout the years and after each battle we have rebuilt to an extent that they would lose more and more against us."_

"Don't make us fight you again, Henry. We can take you sooner or later. Push us and we'll annihilate the remainder of your planet and people. Just allow us to bring you into the Colonial sphere. Allow us to bring your world's version of humanity into space amongst their brothers and sisters bring to an end the wars that plague you and your people across the planet. This will also be the last time I can make this request but please allow us to take control and bring you all into a time of prosperity undreamt of by the greatest of philosophers or finest of fools."

"_I'm sorry, Dick. But I can't allow a bunch of colonies take over the Home world."_

***

"Korbynes," he hissed over his wireless communications device. The walkie-talkie produced static for a couple of seconds before he received a response.

"_We found it!" Stantion transmitted. "The signal is coming from directly overhead. About hundred plus miles up. It's one of our own sats. Their ship has to be on top of it, hard-wired."_

'_Yes, it had to be hardwired' _thought Krobynes. A hidden vessel with better stealth than he ever seen had to be up there with the speaker. That was the only possible explanation. Krobynes growled. "Pass it on." With luck the ship could be taken intact along with the crew.

_**Battlestar Naxos**_

_**Caprica Orbit**_

"Understood," confirmed Adrien. "Command, stand by. Coordinates locked. Have Alert Vipers five and six target the satellite. Fire a couple bursts. If the Tau'ri are using their shields to somehow hide themselves then the bullets would bounce off and identify their exact position."

Yes, sir. DRADIS running hard scan."

And then all Hades would break loose.

_***_

"_And again I'm going to have to say no. We want our independence away from others. Time and again we've had to face false gods and psychotic human offshoots, so no we won't be rolling over for you. Be wary that you are not the only ones that can rebuild your worlds and your fleet, but if we face you again then we will simply remove you by force from our space if you make us. Understand that we have the ability to bring the war to your worlds no matter what precautions you take, you won't see us coming if you push this." _This time Hayes could be heard sighing through the telephone line. _"Well that is_ _all I think that we can do right now, so all I can say now is goodbye Mister President and of course to the gentlemen who are currently attempting to trace this call to wherever it is, which by the way is approximately two hundred and fifty miles directly above that little bunker you are sitting in piggybacking your one satellite."_

The people around Adar began to look around in a panic as if they could sense they were being watched by some kind of camera or maybe a bombsight. Adar himself slowly stood up as the voice of his nemesis kept sounding across the telephone. Was this a trap? He was beginning to panic. If the Tau'ri had some weapon that could penetrate his hardened bunker…!

"_One thing I do want you to understand is that we are that close and what is about to happen here could have been much, much worse. "Goodbye Mister President. Think about what I said." _

A short squeal of data sounded over the telephone line before going dead_._

_***_

High above the Presidential mansion, thousands of miles into space the transmission between the two Presidential offices ceased. The data packet controlling the Colonials at the end of the communiqué triggered a program buried within the cloaked probe near the Colonial communications satellite. Bullets from the first Vipers to start shooting, bracketed the probe but it was far too late.

Seconds later, a bare patch of sky turned into a micro-sized sun as massive naquada explosion lit up the sky above Caprica for a few instances turning the night side into day. That brief second was all that was needed for the probe to fulfil its final mission.

A high frequency burst of radiation, from the explosion emitted a massive EMP expanding through space slamming into facing side of the Colonial Capital world fusing every circuit and electronic device. From space, those unaffected by the EMP watched helplessly as the lights dotting the dark side blink out en masse as electricity supplies were interrupted. Ground and air vehicles simply ceased to function sending many careening out of control sending civilians and military alike to their deaths. It had only been by the Quorum's previous orders to reduce air travel that many others who otherwise would have been in transit hadn't been killed. However, that didn't save the Colonial soldiers, sailors, pilots and civilians in close orbit nearby the detonation, the EMP scrammed the delicate instruments of smaller ships and civilian transport alike. More than a hundred ships simply stopped in orbit their systems as dead as those on the planet's surface. Throughout the orbit defence about thirty percent of the structures and space stations froze in place their weapons and defences jammed or completely fried by the immense multi-megaton naquada enhanced nuclear blast. Older fighters and gunboats on manoeuvres in orbit drifted out of control their instruments totally dead along with their emergency systems. Within seconds the detonation had dissipated leaving the space around the planet dark and silent.

Those few ships that survived the impact of the surge by luck or by design could only stare out into space forced to watch as the planet of Caprica became all but defenceless. Battlestars from everywhere would have to begin search and rescue as soon as possible or the consequences in terms of ships and crews would be catastrophic. Barely fifty miles from the probe the Battlestar Naxos took the brunt of the EMP directly. The Pacifica-Class warship lurched as her engines surged and shut down leaving her drifting high above the planet unable to move and unable to function at all but the very basic levels. All around her the alert vipers and raptors slip through space tumbling as their own systems simply died, the small vessels bouncing off of each other and out into space.

***

Within the White House hundreds of light years away, Henry Hayes dropped his telephone handset into its cradle and sat back the eyes of a dozen men in the room fixed on his reactions.

"God help us all."

_**Crucible Command Centre**_

_**Homeworld Security Command Centre**_

_**Nevada**_

Watching the myriad of screens, O'Neill saw each of the planetary defences turn green as each went active. Hundreds of icons switched across to active bringing the planet's entire defensive set-up online. From here on in shifts of pilots and warship crews would be on rotation, keeping the defences manned and operational at all times. A last command was sent by O'Neill through the system overrode the communication protocols between the Crucible and the newly designated IOA headquarters.

Dropping into the chair in his office the room sealed as the single door slid shut making the room impregnable to anything except a dedicated plasma burst. Turning to the flat screen monitor regressed into the wall he slammed his hand down on the activation button the blank screen lighting up with the SGC icon still being used in place of a dedicated Crucible crest.

"Reroute main communications grid to IOA headquarters. Put me through to the IOA council."

The main communications room locked into the IOA channels overriding the main systems and security council lockouts to put him through to the main meeting rooms. He was expecting two of the three heads of the oversight as well as a number of councilmen to be in place as the earlier summons to the chamber should have had them into place well before he had ordered the channel open.

O'Neill waited relatively patiently as the secure channels were locked in and scrambled before they could transmit. O'Neill was more than slightly angry at the thought that the IOA's actions were causing more and more deaths that could have been avoided by allowing the Crucible and the command staff to do their job, something that he was going to sort out one way or another.

"General, the link up is secure we are ready on your order."

"Put me through Major and shut down all taps on the line."

"That's... against Standard procedure Sir."

"Just do it, Paul."

The face of the IOA chairman burst into view. _"Aah General O'Neill, I hope you have some good news to report, although with what I have been informed about the status of our defences I gather that it is not."_

"Not a chance. The fleet engaged the Wraith at the right co-ordinates. The problem is they didn't stop the Wraith. More than half the fleet is destroyed or heavily damaged and won't be returning home in time to redeploy against the remaining hive ship that is currently headed right for our doorstep."

"_That's a problem, General."_

"No Councillor it won't be, as of now you and the rest of the Council will return command and control of the entire defence of this planet and its people to the Crucible where it belongs and you will stay out of the way until we have the Wraith and Colonial situation in hand."

"_The military does not need to control..."_

"Bullshit, right here and now the military does need to control everything that we say and do when it comes to protecting this planet. Thanks to the mismanagement of the council and the rest of the IOA politicians, we've possibly lost yet another ship to an enemy when an attack using all the forces at our disposal would have saved almost every man and woman sent against the Wraith," O'Neill interrupted. "If every decision we make to defend this world has to go through a committee then we run the risk of being second guessed or outright blocked from making the decisions that are needed to run and win this war."

"The IOA oversight was created just for this occurrence. this war is not a simple matter of borders and materials General. With the Colonials this is a matter of humanity as a whole not to mention the differences that separate our two powers so completely. The military does not have the necessary manpower nor the necessary viewpoints that will allow a cessation of hostilities before this planet loses his way of life or experiences total destruction."

"You are aware that the Colonials don't care about our way of life. They admit that they want to replace our governments with theirs not to mention force their religion upon every person on this planet. We've had more than enough experience in the last decade to call upon to know exactly what we need to do to face the Colonials. Two of the best the SGC have are responsible for the fact that Earth is still intact not to mention the alliances between Earth and the Asgard, the remaining Jaffa Nation and the Hibridans. All of which are currently trading with us to allow us to continue to hold the line against the Colonials."

"_But wasn't it one of these 'experts' that is responsible for the war in the first place."_

"No it wasn't." Jack replied, "No person on the Prometheus was responsible for the Colonials deciding that we'd make a nice little acquisition for the Colonial's empire. Anything to do with that was from them and them alone."

"_Then please explain General why you and Doctor Daniel Jackson are among those most wanted by the Twelve Colonies as war criminals for the attempt to subvert their entire civilisation through lies and propaganda."_

"My own thoughts on that subject cannot be uttered in public, Sir." O'Neill said shortly. "Doctor Jackson has more first contact experience than any other three people at the SGC outside of SG1. The problems that have formed between us and the Colonials might have been simple miscommunication. The fact that we were fired on as soon as we tried to leave their solar system leads me to more than believe that there was more accountability on their side than ours. Their own signal to Earth explained what they thought of this world and that they wanted nothing more than to 'free us' from the chains of the Tau'ri. Even if we tried to sit down and talk again it'll be simply to dictate terms of our surrender to the Colonials and the only way to get to the Colonies is aboard a warship and none are available due to the incompetence of this body."

"It was our decision to keep several of our ships in reserve for just this sort of problem, the failure of the Fleet Command and its officers are nothing to do with the IOA," the head scoffed again. "It's the fact that we kept the Ajax and Prometheus within Earth's solar system that will save the people of this world."

"So screw the crews of the warships?" O'Neill snarled. "The Wraith would have been stopped completely if even one more ship had been with the fleet, the Colonial volunteers were all but destroyed and both our ships have been crippled or damaged beyond repair and may not make it back before the Wraith arrive. What does that say about your damned orders, the fact that the Colonials have done more to stop the Wraith than you people? I will not allow for the moronic orders of a group of armchair admirals to risk this planet and its people. Now we have a choice here, keep your noses out of the military command of this planet and you won't be removed from your positions on counts of treason, diverting of military assets in time of war and anything else I can pin on you."

O'Neill attempted to hold down the smirk that he could feel blossoming on his face as the three IOA officials gaped at him in shock and disgust. A threat like that they weren't expecting from someone that was essentially supposed to be under their control. As long as the IOA were the controlling aspect of the SGC and it's associated branches, the threat itself could be considered traitorous and treason and of itself.

"_How dare you..."_

"No, how dare you! The people of the SGC and the fleet have been dying by the dozens since the Stargate opened. The IOA is supposed to oversee the work we do and help us to continue doing it as efficiently as possible and a war is no place for discussions between the civilian and military. If every single decision and plan we make goes through the IOA then we may as well give us because I doubt anyone within the council has any clue of how to fight a real war let alone win one. So you are going to stop getting involved in the military decisions from now on and let us end this war sooner rather than later. You will be informed on what you need to know when you need to know it and that's all, you can regulate the technical advances, the supply chains and the build up of our ground bases but do not get in the way of the fleet build up or the planning stages of any of the oncoming battles. That is the end of it."

"We will not be spoken to nor threatened like this, '_General'_. You can consider yourself relieved of command immediately until such time as you are replaced, transferred, or court-martialled."

"That will not happen, '_sir'_," O'Neill growled out. "I have been around a very long time, I know a lot about the Armed Forces and what can and does happen. If you continue to interfere with our attempts to fight this war and win it, you will be dealt with. Don't bother attempting to inform anyone about this, all records will have been erased before you can get to them and I can and do have iron clad depositions as to my whereabouts and movements if I have to bring them before a court. Now you have the choices, make one."

"If you think we will let this lie General you are very much mistaken."

"Do what you like but wait until this war is over and then you can hang me for all I care. This planet is under siege from multiple enemies and you have done nothing but get in the way since the IOA was formed. You keep to what you can do and we'll keep to what we do best, saving the world even with idiots in charge."

"The IOA will continue to administer what is needed when it is needed and right now order is needed beyond anything else, the rest is unnecessary."

"Unnecessary?" O'Neill growled. "Saving the lives of the people on this planet is unnecessary? Putting our forces where we need to be the most is unnecessary you say? I say Bullshit! The deaths that happened in our fleet are what were unnecessary. Your continued interference is not wanted and I will not tolerate it any longer. You can do what you need do to keep the public in line and to keep the Colonials we've got locked up from making problems for the rest of us but you WILL leave the war to the rest of us."

"Very well O'Neill. We'll write the orders giving the Crucible total control over the space forces and the SGC. But I hope beyond hope that you hang yourself with the rope we give you because even if you win this war you won't come out of it intact or alive, this I promise you."

"You're welcome to try Councillor; you're welcome to try,"

_**IOA Council Chambers**_

_**Geneva**_

"My God you really are that stupid?" The voice came from the doorway.

Already seething, the IOA chairman shot a glance towards the British member of the council. He and his Russian compatriot had been late for the meeting due to 'unforeseen circumstances' leading to their absence from all but the very last seconds of the confrontation between the American delegate and that of the head of Planetary Defence.

"Not now, McClusky."

"Oh, I think now is precisely the time we need to talk. Ladies and gentlemen could you clear the room please this may not be something the rest of you should witness."

The remaining members of the IOA council left the meeting room, heading out the main doors leaving the two men facing each other. They kept their silence until the doors were closed and the soundproof room once again sealed to the outside world. Chairman Hughes attempted to sit down and begin his statement he'd prepared for the British man. He wasn't expecting the older man to bodily haul him out of his seat and across the room.

"What the hell are you thinking?"

"I am trying to keep this world from devolving into a maelstrom of military control over every part of our lives."

"By getting in the way of the war effort that might or might not be responsible for making sure that we stay free from the Colonials or anyone else that has designs on this planet? Seems to me you want to manage everything and everyone to your own liking, even if it means hamstringing those who actually know anything about protecting this damned planet. "

"They can't..."

"Can't what Hughes? Can't defend the planet without some kind of oversight or can't try to end this war before it encompasses all thirteen worlds of both powers? Seems to me you have no idea of what the SGC and Homeworld security are capable of. You have read their reports and the records of O'Neill and his closest people, right?"

"Yes I've read them, not much impressed me at all."

"You've read them closely enough to piss off a man who is seen by the entire militaries of more than two dozen countries as the man to follow against the Colonials, who if you seem to have forgotten don't care that we want to stay separate from them. Oh and let's not forget the simple fact that he could have you dead before the end of the day of he wants to."

"He could, but he wouldn't dare."

"Yes he would, if you get in the way. Hughes you are an idiot. You haven't read any of the files on him nor his people have you?" McClusky began. "The man is special forces trained, has killed more people than you probably met in your entire life and ordered the total destruction of a solar system to make sure an enemy fleet didn't manage to destroy an ally feeding us valuable intelligence and more than likely later on coming for us as well."

"This is what I mean you fool. He's too dangerous to be allowed to continue in place as the commander of our defences," Hughes began trying to prove his point. "Besides there are a number of more competent and intelligent officers out there that could take his place. Once the defensive positions are in place and his precious fleets are built, he will be removed one way or the other."

"More competent officers you have in your pocket you mean. There are a hell of a lot of officers out there that wouldn't be and I'd do my damned best to make sure they got into those positions instead. But think of this Hughes, how many of your little pets have the knowledge and experience of O'Neill and his people, not to mention that the man will have you disappear before you can even come close to him? That stunt with the Hague you orchestrated has got a lot of people on his side. The idiots that made that attempt have already been sacked from their positions since the verdict came down..."

"You may think me stupid, McClusky but I'm not that moronic. I know which way that the public faces when they have a hero and no I'm not going to touch him until he makes a critical mistake. Then we'll put him in his place. We need him to keep us in this war and I know that but sooner or later he'll be politically and militarily unreliable post war and he will have to be removed from his position. Even you must be able to see that."

"Not particularly, Hughes. The fact that he's almost single-handedly responsible for the current climate with our off world allies more than give him my support. After the stupidity that ended up with Kinsey dead and a load of our classified information in the hands of a Goa'uld, I would have thought that you would have learned from his mistakes."

"I don't have time for any more of your flights of fancy McClusky. I have work to do and I suggest you keep your nose out of my business. O'Neill and his ilk are good for the moment but once we have ended this war our forces will come under a proper military structure that listens to the people that run this planet not their own wishes.

"I hope you have a nice suit Chairman, because if you try that you'll need it."

"I hope your not implicating I'll be put on trial for doing my duty, Vice Chairman."

"Not at all Chairman. I'm thinking that you'll need it more for your funeral."

_**Crucible Command Centre**_

_**Homeworld Security Command Centre**_

_**Nevada**_

Inside the Crucible Jack O'Neill slouched back in his chair. He had finally done it. The IOA had been told in no uncertain terms that they will do as they were told and like it, something that he had not been able to do at all since the inception of the IOA during his time with SG1. Now the problem more than ever was what he needed to keep Homeworld security and its associated sections intact and running without the interference that would be inevitable after his bust up with Hughes, no matter the 'promises' the incompetent moron had given.

More than once he had been forced to end run the council to allow his people to run their defences adequately. Now he would have to make sure his people got what they needed when they needed it while also keeping an eye out for spies, agents or otherwise that would inevitably turn up because of the actions of the council. The problem would be keeping them out of the more sensitive areas without letting them know he was onto them, something that would inevitably lead to others infiltrating instead.

Sighing Jack leaned back into his chair and pressed down on the intercom button on his desk ordering his command staff into the office. Within minutes, the last of the relief personnel had appeared freeing up those needed.

"Alright people, here's the deal, the IOA have decided in their infinite wisdom to step down from oversight for the war effort allowing us a free hand in controlling and using the resources we need to hold off the Colonials for the foreseeable future," O'Neill began. "Because of this we're going to need to increase internal security immediately as well and start recruiting for more personnel to staff the crucible."

"Sir, without the oversight committee what will the Rules of Engagement be?" One Officer, an Army Major asked. "Our forces are stretched thin as it is."

"The ROEs will stay as they are," O'Neill held up a hand to forestall any complaints. "Yes it's damned stupid but we're still held by the rules of convention regarding enemy combatants. We've enough problems without riling up the legal departments of a dozen countries like last time."

"Amen to that," someone said.

"As of now however we have complete control of the fleet and planetary defences. To stop an attack from disabling us I'm having a number of secondary bunkers built worldwide to take control of different parts of the whole. The Brits will keep hold of Houdini while the Russians will take command of the fighter detachments, the United States keep fleet command while the Chinese will back us up if we lose all communications." Jack leaned back. "The Antarctic Outpost will stay as it is, an international regiment will be dispatched as soon as possible to guard it against any attempt to attack it from the surface."

Paul Davis looked up at his words. "Sir that directly contravenes the Antarctic as well as the Arms Limitation Treaties. The forces already stationed there are pushing the word as well as the spirit as it is."

"I know that Paul, but I'm not letting short sighted politicians screw with the only chances we have of defending this planet," O'Neill snapped. "The Forces under Homeworld Security are multinational as it is. As long as we manage to scrape together a force of the majority of the IOA countries then they might stop moaning long enough to notice than the Colonials and Wraith would have us screwed if we lose that outpost."

"There has been a request to move the outpost's command chair and associated system to Area 51 or the British Space Defence Headquarters in the midlands. It would keep the weapon's control in allied hands but not risk the destruction of the outpost if the Wraith destroy the chair."

"Is that even possible?"

"We don't know Sir. The majority of those that researched the chair went with the Atlantis expedition and we're starting over from scratch again."

"Who's boneheaded idea was that?"

"Doctor Weir, Sir. She thought that those that knew the most about the Ancient technology would be best served as part of the Expedition." One of the Majors spoke up. "As it is only Colonel Carter and one or two others left behind or on rotation back to Earth really have any knowledge about the outpost and most of them are currently attached to the shipyards and R&D sections."

"Great." O'Neill rubbed his face. "Pull everyone no matter their rank or position that knows anything about that tech to the outpost and do what they need to keep that place up and running and defended. I'll authorise the construction of whatever we need to hold it and keep it Crap, we should have done something like this a long time ago."

"We tried sir, but the IOA overruled us as usual."

"Even better. Get onto the SGC and see if they can hack together another control system for the outpost in case we need it. I want backups for every defence we have."

"We'll get problems from the politicians, the other countries and the Greenpeace types."

"If they get in the way, shoot them."

"Very droll, Sir." One of the English members of the general staff said. Looking at the General's face he could tell that was not a joke by a very real threat to those that might get in their way. "I mean, very well Sir. We'll have Royal Marine and German Commando units deployed within the next 48 hours."

"Good," O'Neill replied. "We need that intact for as long as this war keeps up. I'll answer to the UN council when it comes up. Otherwise keep it on the low down until I say otherwise. Have tomahawk and rapier systems shipped to the outpost as well just in case. Any other defences will be allocated when and if necessary until then we'll use what we have. Inform the Ajax to take up geostationary orbit above the outpost until relieved or ordered otherwise. When the Wraith arrive and that's the first thing that they'll go for."

"Sir that's assuming that they know that we have an ancient outpost let alone an active one capable of blasting them when they make their attack," The English Colonel spoke up again. "I hesitate to point out Sir that the Wraith attack may completely deplete what remains of the outpost's magazines, with that lost we're down to the few drones on the Puddlejumpers and the defence fleet. Even a Lucian task force could simply lay waste to us."

O'Neill looked down at his notes before looking back up at his council, he had known for a while that the supply was low and that without some form of renewing the ZPM, there was no way of repairing the outpost and increasing the Drones. An attempt had already been made using a copy of the ancient power booster to no avail. Jack had little choice in the matter if he wanted to keep his world alive.

"That is why I'm also ordering a full deployment and resupply to Atlantis as soon as possible, we need to keep that city intact and on our hands and a single massive supply trip may be all we can get to them for a while." Jack paused. "It also means that the return trip will have every drone that can be packed into the ship aboard, whichever ship we send will be at minimal crew, no fighters, no missile resupply and a total removal of anything that is not required for the survival of the ship and crew. I want a complete schematic and plan in place within the time it takes to turn around one of our ships for the voyage.

Colonel Sevigny, I want you to contact Colonel Carter at the Shipyards, the Quartermasters for every IOA and Allied Base you can and see what we can get for them. Use supply budgets for the Crucible and SGC to buy in bulk from outside if you have to, but we have to get as much to them as possible if we survive the Wraith of course."

"Sir, with all respect even with the Daedalus class fully packed even without fighters, we wouldn't get more than a few months of supplies onboard," The Colonel replied., "We couldn't risk sending any more than one ship otherwise we risk compromising the defences."

"That's why I said talk to the shipyards odds on they can come up with something that can help us out. It's already a risk sending the Daedalus anyway maybe we can minimise any more problems with a massive resupply effort," snarked Jack. "It's not exactly a corner store job. The fact is we are hard pressed on every front. The fleet and planetary defences are woefully underpowered and underfunded and we have next to no collateral left to buy resources or ships from anyone. As and when possible, we'll be sending supplies to Atlantis and the other sites. Until then they are on their own. Whatever way this is put together remind the Colonel that it's to be left behind for the return trip. I'm not going to completely strip Atlantis' defences."

We do have one possibility Sir," Davis said

"What would that be Colonel?"

"The Gate Bridge, Sir."

"Uhh." O'Neill looked to his exec. "Is this one of those weird ideas that we put on the backburner?"

"Yes Sir."

"Great, what is it?"

"We gather a number of ground and space gates from both our galaxy and Pegasus, sir. Doctors Mckay and Zelenka think that they can rewire them to work as a really long tunnel in space. The problem is though the need to have a half way stop to shift between one set and another," Davis replied. "Colonel Carter agreed with them and has already started checking on gates on empty planets."

"Nope, I got nothing." Jack frowned.

"We can have both sets of gates in place we think sometime soon, we'll just have to set them the right distance from each other to work." Colonel Foster pushed across a folder. "Right now however the Ajax and the Prometheus will be our best bet to replenish Atlantis as you said."

"It looks like the Prometheus is staying put as is the Ajax at least for now. The Odyssey and Daedalus will be in the shop for a while after this. More if the damage is in the deep structure as well," Davis replied. "We'll have three more Daedalus class in service within two months and a dozen or more Prometheus class ships at the same time, after that we'll be looking at the same numbers every four to five months depending on the speed of delivery from the foundries."

"So we hold off the usual resupply until more ships are operational and we've secured Earth space, problem solved," said Colonel Hayes "With the new ships we can send more than two if it becomes that necessary."

"Not exactly, even though Atlantis routinely rations their supplies in case the Daedalus is lost or delayed but their current supplies are currently counted at less than two months, three if their crop attempts are successful." Sevigny looked to O'Neill and Davis. "Since we recovered contact we've been able to supply them with a bit more each month than they need, considering the sorry state of their inventory beforehand. A Daedalus fleet would be needed to transport the entire needed resources... or maybe something the same size."

"Care to clue us in, Brian?

"Not yet, Sir. I have a few ideas but nothing I can really do anything with until the Daeadalus and Odyssey get back. If I can be excused I need to talk to Colonel Carter about this," Sevigny replied.

"Ok then, if no one has anything else?" O'Neill looked around. "Dismissed."

_**Resurrection Hub**_

_**Cylon Space**_

Liquid splashed across the floor as the struggling figure came to, her consciousness flooding into the empty body as she resurrected gasping and struggling with the bombardment from her newly activated senses. Three sets of hand grabbed on and held her in place as the shock of returning from the ether ebbed away, body heaving and shaking her eyes focussed on the three figures around the pod.

"Calm down. It's ok your back with us."

"What, what happened?"

"We don't know. Whatever it was it took us a hell of a lot of the hub's processing power to pull your stream out of space. We almost lost you more than once before you were reeled back in. Take your time, can you tell us if you remember anything. Where were you and what were you doing?"

"I... I don't know."

"We found your data stream coming in from an old basestar."

"Attacked, we were attacked."

"We found the wreckage of the Basestar along with a hell of a lot of Colonial debris and bodies scattered around. We just don't know why you were out there outside our space."

"The Colonials, how did they know where we were?" Natalie asked.

"We hoped you could tell us," an Eight replied.

"I... I don't know." Six replied, eyes widening. "I can't remember. Why can't I remember?"

"Easy, easy," A fellow six replied. "You were the only one we were able to recover relatively intact, the rest including the centurions and raider minds were all lost in the download. We lost maybe ten percent of your data stream when you transferred. You were lucky we had a resurrection ship close enough for the download to boost back to us otherwise you would have been lost for good."

"I remember something; we were attacked almost as soon as we finished our FTL jump. We jumped into a massive forces of Colonial vipers we were nuked before we could get a single round out. There must have been a lot of ships to take us down so quickly, I just don't remember what hit us." Natalie sighed. "If the Colonials are trying to stop us contacting the Tau'ri or anyone else then they must be desperate, we need to send another attempt to contact them as soon as possible...."

"We won't be doing that just yet," The Four said. "The consensus has agreed that we can ill afford to lose another ship so soon to the Colonials. Once the next group of base ships are completed then we'll be in a better state to send another of the old type. This time with more of an escort than we did this time."

"That could be a year or more, what do we do till then?"

"We continue to make preparations for the war against the Twelve Colonies as we have been doing. Until then there is nothing else we can do."

"This is a mistake. The Tau'ri could be valuable allies or deadly enemies. I know I'd prefer for it to be the latter," Natalie replied. "There was no chance of recovering any of the others?"

"The humanoids were completely scrambled by the distance and some form of jamming we were unaware the Colonials had. The rest simply didn't even burn through the jamming... We lost the hybrid." The eight bowed her head. "We also informed the others about recovering you, apparently they knew nothing about your mission nor why you were aboard an old basestar."

"My mission... was to communicate with the Tau'ri," Six replied confused. "Why would I be sent unless the Consensus made that decision?"

"We don't know, but we're heading back to our own space to find out. We'll be back in the capital system within the next two days so relax while you can," the Eight replied angrily. "We'll find out soon enough what happened and how we'll respond to this Colonial aggression. They can't be allowed to simply destroy our people and ships without response."

"And we won't," Four replied. "However we have to agree by what consensus decides. We can volunteer for the action whatever it may be but we must be patient and see what comes. However there is no reason we can't make a slight detour and make sure that there are no trespassers close to our space."

"We'll be risking a lot if we do this, the Colonials may decide that they are the wronged party and attack anyway."

"Their forces are lower than they have been in almost forty years, a single pinprick won't make much difference and if we're careful we can have them believe it's the Tau'ri themselves that caused the attack. They can't be more pissed off at the Earthers than they are already."

***


	18. Chapter Sixteen

_**Chapter 16**_

_**Orilla**_

_**Asgard Homeworld**_

_**Ida Galaxy**_

"The project is almost complete."

"If we are successful this may mean a great difference to the races of the three galaxies far into the future, ourselves among them."

"Do we have every template installed within the databanks?"

"We merely require the last few."

Thor looked up at the monstrous work that the science council of the Asgard had been working on for more than a year. Every spare hour and every spare piece of material that could be gathered had been put into this- their finest creation to date. The very basis of the technology was far beyond that of their greatest warships or cities, a combined science of Ancient and Asgard technology had allowed for a quantum leap in what they believed had been possible.

-A saviour for their race.

Since they had realised that their race was now completely unable to save themselves through the use of genetics or medical technology, the only thing left was a hope. A hope that would possibly bring them back from the abyss that they were staring into at the twilight of their race. Already, every Asgard bar those few that were assisting younger races had been recalled to Orilla for this final stage of the project.

"Commander, the database and other systems will be complete by the end of the year. I believe that it will be necessary to inform our successors of our progress and our request before we finish the last of the construction."

Thor looked at the machine in front of him. It was time for him to return to Earth to request the last favour that they would ever ask from the humans. Yet another in a virtual catalogue of favours and requests that they had brought before the humans for the last seven years, now another one would be asked through his old friend O'Neill, one he hoped that the Fifth Race would agree to. Time was short and unless the humans of Earth could be persuaded to help then the Asgard while keeping their promises, his people would inevitably cease to exist.

Thor looked to his brother. "The council has agreed to my request."

"I still believe that this is not a good idea" Freyr replied. "However I will obey and follow the edict as laid down." The other Asgard turned from Thor and continued with his work.

Thor realised his brother had little left to say to him. The younger Asgard pressed a control on his wrist sending him from the laboratory to his flagship high above the planet, the O'Neill, the last ship he would command in his many millennia of combat experience. He had begun with such a small and insignificant border cutter and through hard work progressed through every class they had to this the ultimate achievement of their technological prowess. Now it would simply become history like the rest of his ships and indeed the legacy of his people,

Bringing the ship out of orbit Thor passed by assembled Asgard fleet, dozens of ships moved position as their commander threaded his way out into the space beyond their home. Acknowledging his flight plan, he was given the go ahead to leave. Returning the signal, he activated the hyper-drive systems sending the O'Neill into hyperspace on its way to Earth. Due to the more pressing needs for the humans at this point, he would not, as was customary, simply jump into the Sol System and transport up O'Neill. Something like that could set the entire system on edge and possible lead to unforeseen problems between himself and the human leadership. His own vessel while completely immune to anything bar the Ancient technology at their defensive outpost would still be a target.

Thor stared at the screen above his head. He had a few minutes to think to himself before he would have to take the ship out of hyperspace. They had a very little amount of time left to complete their project. This would very possibly be the final time that he would approach the small world that held the people of the Fifth Race, something he had always taken for granted. Jack O'Neill and his team were the closest things to friends he had outside of his own race. Even those such as Ksavir and Freyr had begun to realise the potential that the two races together had even with their own reservations to the planned change to the treaty. Now they had become the true heirs to the four races, a people who took the best and worst of their predecessors and their allies and made it something their own.

His ship continued on through space towards Earth for the last time but while he was there, he would continue with his self made promise to improve the lot of the Fifth Race even to the point of awarding them anything he could to improve their defences. While their technology was far below that of his own, any help they could get would be given. Until such time as the council allowed him to gift real technology to the humans he would simply have to be more creative.

It was odd that only ten of the human's years ago he would have thought very differently about helping out a less advanced race but now after years of exposure to O'Neill and his team as well as a small number of other humans such as General Hammond and Colonel Davis during negotiations he believed that some of them were of suitable character to keep the technology out of the hands of those who would abuse it.

Dropping his vessel back down to sublight he also dropped much of the ship's stealth abilities and while the humans would not be able to scan his ship's interior or indeed pick up much of the exterior of the ship they would be able to see him and detect his exact position. That was something that he was sure that Stargate Command and their allies would appreciate from him. He keyed the communications as one of the closest ships approached from Earth orbit.

"Asgard vessel this is the HMS Ajax, welcome back to Earth."

"This is the O'Neill, I am Commander Thor requesting permission to enter Earth orbit."

"Permission granted Commander, a parking orbit has been cleared for you."

"Thank You."

Slipping past the Daedalus class vessel, the massive O'Neill entered the parking orbit of Earth. Thor's scans surprised him somewhat at what length the humans had gone to defending their world against another attack by these Colonials. Operational satellite defences, larger numbers of fighters deployed both above and within the atmosphere and a quickly growing star navy, several dozen small and medium class vessels were already launched with a few of the larger Daedalus class ships in orbit as well.

Even more so was evidence that an expansion of their shipyard facilities both in orbit and on the ground were increasing dramatically as was the number of ships coming into the system from outside of Earth. It seemed that the Tau'ri had begun calling in favours and requests from all over the galaxy, their current strength while still inferior to all but the lowliest of powers was still enough to allow a good defence.

Their war against the human power calling themselves the Colonies had forced the entire planet to close ranks, to fight as one people. However Thor believed that they would need to be careful once the new treaty came into effect.

He was impressed with the fact that in less than a year since the attack on Earth that so much could be done so fast, even with the assistance of his own people and the remaining Tok'ra to build shipyards. The humans had pushed and pushed the construction of so many ships he was surprised that they were capable of launching them fully manned and armed.

"Crucible to Commander Thor."

"This is Thor, Good Morning Colonel Davies."

"Good Morning, Commander, I'm sorry about the hostile reception but we are expecting an enemy vessel to enter Earth space within the next day. I am afraid that I have bad news about the ships that you left here."

"I know Colonel, a communications channel between Orilla and our ships here were interrupted by the battle. We are aware of the damage caused to them and the losses, however their return to this world will be observed and their crews removed once the ships are repaired." Thor replied, "My own ship will also be staying to assist against the Wraith vessel,. We should be capable of destroying the hive once it arrives."

"Thank you, Commander."

"This however is not the reason that I am here. I have a request to put to your leaders and to General O'Neill. This is of the utmost import to the Asgard people and the future of our race and yours."

"I see. This will take a while to prepare Commander."

"I understand Colonel. I would request that it is soon as I may not have much time."

"I can inform General O'Neill immediately."

"Please do."

It took only a few seconds before another voice joined Davis on the communication channel.

"Thor buddy, what can we do for you?"

"O'Neill I require assistance. If you are willing I will transport you to my ship."

"I'm got Carter and Daniel down here with me."

"Then I shall bring all four of you up."

"Ready when you are."

A flash of light brought three Air Force officers and one civilian archaeologist appeared on the bridge. Thor walked towards them bowing his head slightly as he greeted them.

"It is good to see you again."

"Good to be here Thor, which one is this?"

"The ship? It is the O'Neill."

"Another one?"

"Do you not also use the names of lost ships in memory of their exploits?"

"Yeah we do, didn't know you did," Jack replied.

"As you have been informed we require assistance from the humans of your world, please take a seat." Several human-sized chairs appeared behind them requisitioned from the main conference room at the SGC, something that Jack was quite sure would cause Hank Landry to have somewhat of a conniption when he found out.

"We should wait for the IOA members before we agree to anything Commander, Davis said.

"The request will go through your International Oversight Authority when it is necessary however I found it prudent to explain to your people first as I believe that it is the military and scientific parts of your society that will most benefit from the treaty requests that we are about to make."

"It this is about those muppets episodes..."Jack began.

"It is not. It has to do with the very survival of the Asgard Race and the legacy with which we leave you and the rest of your world." Thor looked at O'Neill "Several years ago we discovered that a progressive genetic disease had begun to damage our DNA. Our entire race has been infected with this illness causing less of our clones to reach maturity. Within a century our entire race will be unable to enter any of the bodies we produce."

The four humans were shocked. The Asgard were an ancient race far beyond anyone else that they had met and second only to the Alterans. The fact that they were so close to extinction after so many millennia was unbelievable. They knew of the troubles that the aliens had had with their cloning technologies in recent years. The fact that the bodies were dying off so quickly meant that they need the help others could give them help that even the knowledge of the ancients and the DNA of the more advanced humans of the planet earth couldn't assist.

"How, what can we do to help Thor?" Sam asked, "There's got to be something we can do."

"There is, while every attempt to recreate our race has failed we have been able to plan ahead. The request that I have comes directly from the Asgard High Council. Our entire race is being stored in a small number of computer cores and will be kept in stasis for the foreseeable future. During this time we will need to be watched over to ensure that we survive until such time as we are able to recover and transplant into new freshly cloned bodies. Even with our own technology we will be unable to do so for a significant amount of time. As we speak a second system of computers are unravelling and rebuilding the very structure of every DNA strand of the Asgard People."

"How long will that take?" Daniel spoke up, "I mean you must have the knowledge of your own DNA after all this time as well as those bodies we discovered and brought back. We thought that was one of the keys to keeping you alive."

"You misunderstand Doctor Jackson, it is not the simply unravelling and reconstruction of a single strand from each Asgard but every single strand in every single body of those of us who remain including those who have already been unable to download into a new body. It will take in excess of one thousand years even with the use of time manipulation technology to complete the project; one thousand years where we and our technology will be at the mercy of any enemy that decides to take advantage of our weakness. This is why we are here, if you and your people agree then the entire Asgard race will move the specialised equipment that are the core of our project to a nearby solar system."

"You can do that?" Jack exclaimed.

"Sir we've seen them turn main sequence stars into black holes, moving a city shouldn't take much." Carter replied.

"So we're looking at an Asgard version of Atlantis here, Thor?" Jack looked to the small alien

"Nothing quite as grandiose, while we could build a city ship we do not have the time nor the resources at hand." Thor blinked. "In return for your assistance, we will begin to equip you with technology to better protect yourselves and those that you claim as brothers."

"O'Neill with your permission a number of Asgard are prepared to beam aboard your ships immediately to begin installing various technological upgrades.

"What is it you're planning on giving us?" Davis replied.

"Everything we have and know."

"By that you mean?"

"Everything. All our most current technology, all our knowledge."

Daniel could only stare at the Asgard "Sorry. We're just a little stunned …why are you so willing to give up your technology? You've always resisted in the past…you always said we weren't ready for this."

"Daniel..." Jack started before stopping himself, "Actually as much as I want the big honking space guns and go-somewhere beams, you and the council back home have both said we shouldn't be messing with stuff so far beyond us."

"Indeed. Many of my people still believe that, however with our own lives in jeopardy we have been forced to choose between our honour and our very being. We have chosen honour." Thor looked to the four humans. "In the many years since the four races dissolved the great alliance we have watched and waited as many promising peoples have come and gone. Each had our hopes that they could create something that could rival what had come before. Each failed in their own way. Now we have seen what is possible with the current incarnation of humanity and that is something that we hope that out own assistance will allow to nurture. For the first time in ten thousand years we have hope for the future. You are the Fifth Race and the culmination of every hope and dream that the Asgard, the Furlings, the Nox, and the Ancients have."

"With all respect Commander, with the exception of a few outposts we don't own any planets or systems nearby. What use can we be to you?" Colonel Davis asked.

"That is simple Colonel, the request is that you watch over us while we sleep."

_**POW Camp Colonial One **_

_**Hanka**_

"The gods looked down upon what they had done to Kobol and receded from their followers as one. Mankind trembled at the knowledge that they and they alone would continue their works untroubled and unwatched by those that they had called their lords. But even with the Lords no longer with them the people rose up and built a fleet of ships, the Arks with which to move between the stars and take their rightful place in the heavens."

The preacher looked over the hundreds of men and women that sat or stood in front of him. He and another two dozen of his fellow priests had survived aboard the ships simply disabled by the Tau'ri and had been separated during the debriefing from their flocks. Yet once they had been searched and questioned they had been allowed back into the mainstream prison population to continue with their teachings of the words of the lords of Kobol.

He had even gone as far as to request the scrolls and other paraphernalia that had been aboard his ship before they had been taken prisoner and separated. Oddly, the Tau'ri had been more than willing and had in fact sent down personal effects of a lot of the personnel that had survived. A veritable mountain was left behind from those who were already dead. He and his fellow brothers had held onto it allowing for it to be used as the basis of an economy for the survivors.

The survivors throughout the encampments had been surprised that everything that wasn't nailed down had been send to them, even money, jewellery and other precious items were included. Nothing as far as they could tell had been ransacked and kept by the Tau'ri, one bursar had remarked that every cubit the fleet had in their coffers had been included. Enough money to make any man in the Colonies rich enough to buy a moon, jewels and bonds equalling the cost of entire Battlestars were included.

More than one had remarked that had it been the other way around that they would have ransacked the Tau'ri ships and taken anything they could; that the people that went through their ships were fools; that would likely be easily taken for everything they owned. The preacher hadn't bothered to correct the man and left the conversation to continue on.

Unlike what they had expected however their religious beliefs had been left intact and they were allowed to do as they wished in regards to their religion so long as they didn't break any of the fundamentals that existed on the Tau'ri worlds. Given that the majority of the fleet followed the more common versions of the story of the Lords that didn't seem to be much of a problem. Several of the religious groups from a number of the Earther's religions had visited the priests. They had likewise been military based but with insignias to show their position within the ranks.

They had been responsible for a number of the same basic ceremonies that he and his brethren had been witnessed to. It seemed that their religion while still something anathema to a number of the colonies' populations, were not completely different in all ways to their own. He had been fortunate enough to witness the last rites as well as a ceremony remembering those that had been lost to illness and injury amongst their own people and although they had had no reason to hide him nor to let him see the outside world of their religious views, they had.

Several of their most overriding religions seemed to follow the same basis of a single god and their followers showing the way to paradise through self sacrifice, something not too unlike several of the gods within his own pantheon. But that same commonality also seemed to push their people apart with religious wars and persecution evident throughout their history.

Even now during the days after they had been assaulted by his people because of yet another disagreement thinly veiled as a religious difference, (something that he and his fellows has all believed was simply lip service given to the college and the more rapidly religious backwards worlds instead of simply telling them to truth) the same thing happened. Now it was between the two of them, Colonial and Thirteenth Tribe.

"Today as with each new day as it dawns is a new chance for us to renew ourselves, we have been given a bountiful and clean world for us to claim for the people of the Colonies. We may be trapped here but we are trapped as one people unlike any other time in our history. Therefore, let us not hate our fellows nor our brothers but embrace all that they are and all that we are." The priest bowed his head, "In the name of Zeus the Father, Hera the Mother and those sons and daughters of their line. So say we all."

The assembled Colonials bowed their heads as they repeated the mantra before falling out to their new homes. They had been forced to build their own huts and living spaces using equipment supplied to them from the Tau'ri. Almost every disaster pod that could be salvaged from the fleet had been sent to the planet in small amounts as the Tau'ri and their allies dropped them off as and when possible. Given the numbers of pods compared to the numbers of survivors there had been more than enough to equip the fleet personnel with rations and habitation.

Already the pods themselves as well as the larger solid shelters were popping up into small groups as personnel from different ships and indeed classes of vessel had congregated together. His own flock had been from a large number of cruisers and missile ships that had been on far side of the attack as their numbers were slightly larger than most of the other groups. But not everything went smoothly.

Many were angry at the fact that their efforts had been ineffectual against the Tau'ri ships when their main weapons were capable of shattering multiple Cylon basestars. Several even blamed the commanders and crews of the largest Warstars and Battlestars for their defeat. The already legendary rivalry between the Battlestar personnel and the cruisers had substantially increased once they had all been forced into the same encampment.

Equipment and supplies from their disabled ships had been salvaged as much as was possible by those few allowed onto the vessels. Food, drink, medical aid, construction equipment, even vehicles and fuel had been packed into two of their own ships and jumped into orbit with a few of their own people piloting them. The former Jupiter and Ziggurat had been renamed in giant painted letters in the place of their original names. He and his fellows who had been responsible for the transfer had no ideas what the names SS Lusitania and Edmund Fitzgerald could possibly mean.

However they had been warned that while they had been brought there, through some odd contraption that seemed to be a contained tunnel between worlds, that once the last of their people were through the gateway would be removed with no way back through and very small chance of resupply once what they had on hand was exhausted. However the equipment and supplies both from their warships and from the Tau'ri themselves had included a large number of supplies with which to begin building a more modern barracks style habitation.

Their greatest danger was the lack of long term food and water supplies, something that their own stocks of equipment could help with in the long term, Once again the Tau'ri had been gracious enough to furnish them with books and leaflets on how to begin production of their own agriculture and water reclamation. It would take time and effort to rebuild a civilisation on this world but it was something that one day could bring another world into the sphere of the colonies, when the time came that the Tau'ri were forced to tell their people where the prisoners were.

Observing his flock he watched as several more of the precious disaster pods were cracked open, thousands of tons of supplies were stocked within military food rations sufficient to feed over a thousand people for a month or longer if they were able to use some of the local flora to allow it to go further. The same went for the tents and shelters that were packed in, living space for that same thousand people. The shelters already in use were suitable for the moment until such time as they could build better.

However the most useful of the equipment was still being unloaded and rationed as the food was; tools, ropes, small motors, fuel for them, several seemed to be of an older variety due to the fact they had included small travel buggies that had long been out of service aboard the Battlestars. The greatest gift from the gods had been the hospital equipment that had been aboard the Colonial ships. Supplies and medical apparatus was already in use as several of the soldiers had had relapses from whatever illnesses they had caught from the devastating biosphere of 'Earth'.

The supplies were already mostly catalogued and locked away to be rationed between the groups, a large group of tents guarded by men and women he knew to be Marines. However he would not be surprised if a black market was already in progress, the problem of course being there is no way to get new and unofficial contraband in and no guards to bribe to bring anything in. He and the rest of the brothers were the only members of the commonality allowed to come and go from the supply shelters without escort. This was something that he felt had been a bad decision on the part of the commanders.

"Brother Tyrn."

The priest looked up at the approaching figure of the senior most religious figure of them all. While the priests could talk and make decisions in a cavalcade, a leader was needed – and the oldest and best known of the priests was decided upon."

"Brother Luc."

Luc had spent more time with the religious members of the Tau'ri's military than any of the others had. During his time with them he had been exposed to their habits, their religions and their way of life. With a few exceptions such as the freedom of religion that they seemed to hold dear in many countries, they lived much like the Colonies did. Luc himself had informed them of their world at large, at his sufferance he had allowed priests of their varying religions to sit in on the cavalcades as the brothers made their decisions.

Most had been silent during the prayers and worship they had witnessed simply bowing their heads in pray to their own gods, whoever they were. Several had a multitude of gods and prayed to most if not all of them with one or two gods seen as the household gods, something that was quite common within the Colonies even though according to the tenets of that religion they had been worshipping for far longer than the Colonies had been inhabited. Others preached peace and brotherhood between all of their followers and those that did not believe.

The brothers, once they had heard of this, disbelieved that so many religions could exist on one world when only one or two existed on their own twelve worlds. Even before the colonies had reunited after thousands of years almost everyone had been a follower of the tenets of the lords of Kobol.

A small group of Monotheists that had believed in a single all powerful deity, were the exception. They believed in an All-Father much like Zeus in his religion, but theirs was one in which there was one All-Father presiding over everything with no other lesser gods to watch over his firmament.

He had discovered that the illegal monotheisms of his home worlds were embraced as the dominant religions of the Earth itself. While this meant that some of what Adar and the leaders of the Churches had said was true, he had seen far more of the true face of the Tau'ri. The complete lack of attempts to convert them to their own religions and war of life had come as a shock. He had disseminated that to the brothers and that caused more than one upset and even a single demand for his resignation and dismissal from the cloth.

"I see your words to your flock is being taken to heart recently." Luc smiled. "They seem to take heart in you and your sermons."

"Indeed Brother, the expansion of the encampment as well as the beginning of proper construction of homesteads for our people have already begun ,but I fear that we may have problems as we continue."

"Yes. I have heard the same from the other brothers. More than one has informed me of the possibility of conflict between groups of our fellows."

"How do we temper them, Brother? They are angry at our defeat even after all this time. Their hatred and anger at the Tau'ri and those that escaped and left them behind will soon end up as hatred towards the other cliques that are forming between the crews."

"I don't know my friend. It is within each of us to fight what we see as injustice and without an enemy to fight. We will fight amongst ourselves until another evil comes around and forces us to bind together like the Cylons, or the Tau'ri."

"I hope you are correct Brother, otherwise we could be in dire straits compared to where we have just come from. Those who follow the path laid out may find themselves facing those who do not believe. Worse yet those who follow religions not of the lords may indeed decide to defect to the Tau'ri for one reason or another especially those whom follow the one god." Tyrn looked concerned. "I don't want to think about what it's like back home. Those who have been known to be monotheists could find themselves in trouble with the colleges as well as the general public. Illegal as it is, we have allowed them to continue without any serious repercussions for the last few decades. Now I can't see them being allowed to exist in any way once it is apparent that the Tau'ri are voluntarily members of such religions."

"Then a lot of people will die back home, more so than those who have already been lost to this folly of a crusade."

"It gets worse my friend."

A barrage of screams and shouts came from a cluster of people around one of the other priests. Several other groups began to shout as the same news that seemed to upset the first group made the rounds. Even with an inhabited area the size of the Colonial encampments the speed of rumour was impressive, the speed of bad news was faster still.

"We had a visitor from the Tau'ri command earlier today," Luc spoke up over the noise. "He informed us of the complete story of their own attack on the colonies just after we attacked here, Tyrn, Picon was destroyed."

"What? How is that possible?"

"Apparently it was an accident. They went after the anchorage shattering it with nuclear weapons. Debris hit the planets' surface the space stations exploded. The combination of the Tau'ri's attack and the armament already in place caused about a third of the entire structure to hit the surface. Since some of it radioactive from the blasts, most of the survivors were taken off planet before they sealed the orbital paths. Those left... well..."

"By the lords!"

"Oh it gets worse my friend. Some virus made it off world. No-one is saying how it came to exist but it swept through the colonies killing hundreds of millions and crippling a lot of others. The Tau'ri haven't told us what the virus is but if I can read between the lines. It's something nasty and it's something that these Earth born have in their arsenal, possibly this and probably things far nastier. The news just came through and I have designated the brothers of the order to inform the rest of the population."

"We're going to be busy. Close to a fifth of the people here are from Picon."

"I know, I'm afraid before this week is done with we'll have more than one last rites to administer." Tyrn looked exhausted. "The people will need their spiritual guidance for quite some time after this plus there is the fact they will not be able to take their revenge on those who caused the crippling of the Colonies will grate on them all."

"We'll need to inform the command council of this, try to keep this from spilling over into internecine warfare."

"We might need to recruit more brothers if we are able to. Several former preachers and lesser brothers of the faith are now members of the fleet here. I will do my best to retrieve them and bring them back into the fold."

"I will contact the Tau'ri. As much as we do not wish for their help, more than one of our brethren were kept behind for some reason. Their return could assist immeasurably with the problems over the next few weeks."

"Thank you." Luc replied. "Now to see if we can repair the damage that the Tau'ri have caused in these few weeks. This will be a long and trying time for us all Brother Tyrn, I hope that we are up to it."

"As do I brother, because unless we are, many of our brothers and sisters of the colonies will be lost to us, possibly forever."

_**Colonial Command Defence Bunker**_

_**Outskirts of Colonial Defence Command**_

_**Picon**_

_**Two weeks prior to the Caprica EMP attack**_

The worst of the virus seemed to have abated within the ranks of the Colonial Command. While they had lost almost a third of the personnel inside the bunker to the illness, the rest had recovered to some extent although several hundred would be returned to their home colonies invalided. Those Colonials had been so badly ravaged in body and mind by the plague that they would be unable to continue their careers.

Admiral Corman stepped through the hatch into the infirmary watching as his medical staff fussed over the beaten body of his prisoner. The man had finally all but given up as his body could no longer keep him upright and defiant. With luck once he was recovered enough he would give anything to stop a repeat of the circumstances that left him the wreck he currently was. Even given the fact that he knew nothing of the Tau'ri's major technology or its current deployment and numbers, he was useful to Intel for providing an actual psychological profile of the people of his world, especially those more powerful countries that made up the mongrel governments ruling the planet.

"Doctor."

"Admiral." The woman said stiffly. "What can I do for you?"

"I need a full status of all the personnel on this base. I want to know if it is clear enough to begin a redeployment of new staff to replace the entire crew."

"You already have my data on the virus. As far as I can tell everyone has been through the worst of it. Those who are still alive are either now immune to the current version, almost dead, or will be rendered incapacitate for the rest of their natural lives. Yes we can replace the entire crew without any ill effects. I would suggest a replacement of the filters in the atmospheric systems as well as a broad spectrum cleaning of the entire base using high heat or radiation."

"That will not be possible if we want to keep this place running."

"If you want your people to stay healthy enough to run this facility then you clear it and disinfect it Admiral, unless you want hundreds more dead or debilitated each time you change the crew."

"How long would it take?" Corman sighed, this woman was a frustrating pain in his rear but she was the best genetics biologist that the intelligence services had. He had to put up with her for the moment and with her position she could overrule his orders simply by using her prerogative as Medical Officer.

"At the bare minimum, maybe a week. More likely two it'll depend on the equipment and personnel you're willing to use to get this place in shape."

"TWO WEEKS." He all but roared.

There was no way in Hades that he would be willing to leave the station completely empty for three weeks, not with the state of the planet and by and large the entire war effort. The chances of something going wrong increased with every moment that the bunker was unoccupied.

"If you want to keep this place in use, then yes."

"Impossible, completely impossible."

"Not my problem."

"It will be if anything goes wrong…"

He stormed across the infirmary to the prone body, the Tau'ri pilot was a mass of yellow and brown where the healing bruises and cuts that his 'debriefing staff' had rained upon the unfortunate soul. The problem with physical violence was the fact that anything that they got out of the man would by suspect, however the psychological effect of prolonged violence to the point of breaking was well known especially now that he was on the road to recovery.

Alive or dead, he would be of some use to the Colonies even if just for the biological and chemical differences between them. The fact that the viruses that this man was immune to could cause devastation far beyond the influenza virus he had admitted to having was one of just a few things this man knew about that could change the balance of power between the Colonies should any one group have access to those illnesses.

"When can he be moved?"

"Realistically now?" She thought for a moment. "Preferably in a week's time when his internal injuries have healed up. I don't care what he has that you need Admiral, any more of your 'questioning' and he'll be of no use to you and I won't be able to keep him intact afterwards. Simply allowing you to continue this goes against all the principles of the School of Asclepius."

"Doctor, I am well aware of your oaths, the fact is that you can't stop our questioning of this person." He put the emphasis on the last word. "It and all the information he has is a necessary need to know no matter how small or inconsequential it may seem. He's told us small amounts of important things such as their most powerful power generation warp cores and proton torpedoes capable of cracking apart the largest of space stations. In case you missed it, they've already proven that! We need more if we are to fight the Tau'ri." His voice rose in pitch as he continued to talk. "I will take him if you force me to and neither you nor he will enjoy it!"

"No I gather we won't, nonetheless he will not be leaving this base until you begin evacuation and DECON procedures. Once that begins you can move him off world to your heart's content, but until then he stays right here where I can at least keep any more chances of another killer virus getting out."

_**One week later**_

The two women were giggling slightly as they worked. News had already come to the base that a massive pulse had knocked out the electronics of more than half of the planet Caprica. News that Corman had been on a Battlestar that had jumped into orbit literally seconds before the EMP had crippled his ship had been giving members of their staff the giggles for some time. The fact that he was still caught on his ship as doors and bulkheads were cut through was even funnier.

However orders were orders and several ships were in orbit awaiting the last of the personnel from the station. Nothing larger that a destroyer was deemed necessary especially considering the losses taken so far in the war. Indeed the destroyers and frigates had become the most plentiful ships in the fleet as the reactivation of older classes had gone ahead.

For the moment however the base was under a gradual lockdown. The possibility of crippling the defences permanently had been weighted up against the temporary disabling of what remained of the Picon area's defences. The argument had been very much one sided forcing the total evacuation within the week,. Corman had grudgingly allowed it leaving a bare guard of less than two hundred.

"Miriam." Cassandra looked in from the doorway. "The entirety of sections one through four are empty on all floors. They're closing down the life support and computers ready for decontamination."

"What about this side?"

"Six through nine are locked down and last few personnel are loving into the remaining sections. Admiral Corman is still swearing up a storm about what's happened at Caprica."

"Can't have been fun being pulled back to an active ship by his tail." Miriam grinned. "Have you shut down the access ways and main computers?"

"Kind of."

"What do you mean kind of?"

"Well the thing is Miriam, they aren't shut at all except for the entrances to four and five."

"What, why?"

"That's the problem. I need them open."

"Cassie, what have you done."

"Doctor Cassandra Howarth?"

Both medical personnel looked around at a man in combat armour toting what looked like an older rifle. Miriam cleared her throat before speaking.

"I'm afraid your mistake there Soldier, I'm the Doctor. Cassie is my head nurse." Miriam looked to her nurse mystified by the apologetic look on the younger woman's face. "Cassie?"

"I'm sorry Miriam, I really am."

"What?" Miriam shock kept her immobile for two more soldiers to appear at her side.

"Tie her up Corporal, I'll get the package," she ordered the soldier. Miriam finally began to wake from her stupor as two of them men gently walked her over to a chair. "Miriam I am truly sorry about this, but we had to know the truth."

"You're taking him?"

"Yes we are; the authorities have done enough to him."

"They'll hunt you down for this. You'll be betraying your oath to the Colonies."

"My oath to my god is far beyond that of the colonies, especially those made to those whom do such injury to those that can't defend themselves. The Earth-born man isn't solely responsible for what has happened here. The fact that our brethren are being hunted to death simply because we don't want to follow the so called 'Lords of Kobol' is against the tenets of colonisation."

"The religion of any single god was outlawed for a good reason," Miriam replied. "But... I do understand what you're doing. Now do me a favour before you leave."

"If I can."

"Put me out with a tranquiliser. I can't tell them anything that I don't know."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure," Miriam smiled. "Doctor Howarth."

"If we all get out of this, I'll look you up."

"If we get out alive, I'll be expecting it."

Cassandra slipped a needle into the arm of her friend watching as the older woman slowly dropped into a drugged sleep. Leaving her be the soldiers stomped through to the other end of the medical bay.

Only a single bed was still occupied by a male, strapped down across his shoulders, arms, legs and chest. Brutal Injuries that had been caused to him were still evident, blood still oozed from a few wounds into the bandages surrounding him. Bruises and swellings disfigured his features enough that so he was unrecognisable.

"By the gods."

"He doesn't understand Colonial standard."

"It's ok." One of the soldiers replied slowly removing the restraints. "The pastor will be able to talk to him."

Fitz opened his eyes as the restraints loosened. He had heard the conversation between a small group of people and unable to understand them he simply waited until they left. He was not expecting to be let free without being tied to something else. As his eyesight cleared he saw the blonde nurse surrounded by three military looking types. However unlike the torturers he had been used to these men were dressed in combat fatigues and armour, one was even equipped with a large rifle/grenade combo.

"Great what now a firing squad?" he croaked.

The blonde woman shook her head and gestured that she and the others didn't understand him. One of the soldiers however pulled a letter from his vest pocket and raised it to the pilot's face level gesturing for him to take it. Hesitantly, Fitz tried to raise his arm to take the letter, however he dropped his arm in exhaustion unable to make it.

"It's ok," The man replied opening the letter.

_Pilot_

_We are friends, these gentlemen are to bring you to us._

_You are safe._

_Please follow them._

_The Pastor._

"Ok right and I'm to believe that this is real?" the British man croaked nastily. "What's the pretext here then, shot while attempting escape, pretend to let me escape and then lock me in another room, oh the good old 'good copper bad copper' bull? Pull the other one."

While the Colonials didn't understand the words they more than understood the language. Without a choice one of them pushed a needle into the neck of the uncooperative pilot injecting him with another dose of the same drug they had used against the Doctor. He hit the bed asleep within seconds as the concoction hit his brain. Softly the three men slipped him onto a gurney and moved him out leaving the sealed medical section and one unconscious woman behind.

"We've only got a few minutes before someone notices they can't unlock the doors and blast their way in."

"We've got transport waiting. The program that we were sent has got the outer doors open and the guards don't have a clue," a guard smirked. "The gremlin strikes again."

"You and that bloody name," one of the others said. "He's just someone that that's got some pull in the military. Hell this could be a set up to get someone into our ranks and take down the lot of us."

"You're paranoid as hell," the first man said.

"Will you both shut up?" Cassie said, "There's something wrong."

"Now that's a surprise."

"As we pass each section the doors are supposed to close and seal as I order them to. They aren't."

"So?"

"So… if they manage to burn their way through the quarantine doors they'll have a direct path right here and they can move a lot faster than we can with a lot more people."

"That could be a problem."

"No frak," the second replied.

"Will you both shut up?" the third hissed. "Doctor Howarth?"

"It's keeping the entryway clear and open but we've got no way to stop them if they get through that doorway," Cassie said. "I don't know if we'll be able to get away from the external defenses if that happens."

One of the guards grinned. It was nasty. "Don't worry about that, we've got a small surprise if they decide to get punchy,"

"Oh great, I'm not overly enthused by that."

"Relax. If they get us they won't take us alive."

"Do you talk in anything but clichés?"

"Not if I can help it," he replied before hearing a muffled thud. "Looks like they've figured us out."

"I'm still trying to close the doors."

"Forget it, we're here."

Two massive doors to the outer hull of the sunken fortress stood blown open and guarded by another dozen motley garbed and heavily armed men and women. Behind them sat a large hover vehicle ready to take them onboard and away from the bunker. They slowed as they approached, allowing the guards to see who they were. The scattered defenders lower their weapons slowly. They snapped them back up as another thud echoed through the corridor signaling that the Colonial forces were getting closer.

One man stepped forward. "That won't last much longer."

"Major."

"Welcome back, Doctor."

"Let's get moving. I don't want to face a firing squad, if I can help it."

"Bates, Fletcher, help them get him into the truck then everyone disappear. Break ranks and head to the nearest firebases. We won't be telling you where we're going…"

"Just in case anyone gets caught," Bates replied. "Got it boss man, be careful with this guy."

"Until we get far enough away we're counting on all of you to hold them back so we can get this man away. Good luck to all of you, God's Speed."

With that farewell the vehicle screamed off into the dust ridden air leaving the smattering of forces behind. A last larger thump echoed through to the ruined airlock. Almost as one the soldiers took position with guns ready, they would allow for the others to escape even at the cost of their own lives.

_**British Naval Fleet Yards **_

_**Prometheus Class Dockyard**_

_**Falkland Islands**_

_**South Atlantic**_

During the months since the attack by the Colonials, the British forces had diverted much of their efforts away from the construction of the increased Naval and Armored units that had taken the majority of the defense budget over the last few years. More money had been found by cutting elsewhere or raising funds from the richest people of the United Kingdom. Entire fortunes had been gathered or donated to continue construction of the new Royal Star Fleet.

It was odd just how many of the thousands of the richest families and aristocracy had been willing to flood the coffers of the Ministry once they had realized just how badly outnumbered and outgunned by the Colonials they were. Even more monies had been transferred from countries throughout the commonwealth and its allies. The costs of the total reconstruction of the armed forces were well in hand with enough funds for more than two dozen capital ships.

Assistance from the Americans had allowed for the Falkland Islands to become the new home of the fleet yards. The single Daedalus class dockyard within the British Isles would continue as the Fleet's main resupply dock. However, most refits would continue at the American's far larger still unnamed shipyards in Nevada. The next stop for the Royal Space Fleet would be the construction of larger and more comprehensive shipyards deep within the Australian outback. The long-term ally and dominion of the United Kingdom had been the perfect place to position the largest single construction in British history.

A flash of light deposited a single figure to the doors of the local naval commander. Commodore William Franks RN was busy at his desk signing over supplies and equipment by the truckload as they were deposited by both the Royal forces and alien ships in orbit. The familiar sound of an Asgard beaming system as well as the telltale light from under the door interrupted his musings.

Crossing the room he opened to door to a tall man in a dark suit. He was about to ask what was going on as he recognized the man in front of him. Eyes widening, he held the door open for the other man.

"Prime Minister, I wasn't expecting you to make the trip here."

"Commodore Franks, it's good to finally meet you," Prime Minister Murray smiled as he walked through the door. "I was informed that the fleet had a problem and decided to look at it for myself. Besides what's Prime Ministerial privilege without abusing it from time to time. I had the Ajax transport me when it made orbit, seems there's a small meeting going on between O'Neill and the Asgard."

"Ah, yes Sir. We picked up the Asgard ship coming out of hyperspace. She's a true monster Sir."

"That she is."

"Odd that she allowed us to see her incoming."

Murray looked out of the window at the Prometheus class ships under construction. To the side more docks were partially complete with hundreds of workers scurrying like ants across the huge cavern built into the ground. The closed doors high above them sealed the dockyards against everything bar a direct strike from a Goa'uld mothership. Murray watched the men and women of the construction battalions as they hollowed out more of the area around the underground facility impressed at the speed that the yards had taken shape. "Makes our own ships look like Matchbox cars and about as dangerous."

"We've only been building these things for three years, sir. The Asgard have had tens of thousands and help from other races to meet that potential."

"Quite right, Commodore." Murray turned and sat in one of the soft chairs near the windows. "So what is so important that three fleet admirals pushed for this meeting?"

"We have a serious problem with the fleet Sir." Franks began. "We have three Capital ships in service with several more under construction as you know. In addition the 302 squadrons assigned to each of our protectorates have been increasing as squadrons can be completed. However once we clear nine ships and continue the growth of planet based defenses the Royal Navy and indeed the Royal Air Force and Army will find themselves running out of pilots to continue all of our defense commitments."

Murray frowned. "Are you sure about this Commodore? Our forces are one of the biggest and best trained in the world."

"Yes sir, while we have hundreds of pilots in each of the armed forces, not all are qualified or capable of flying from Carriers or anything as advanced as the F302. We need to keep a number of pilots in the more traditional military arms; transport, atmospheric defense, ground support and Search and Rescue - all need personnel. Our fighter components will be fully filled out and we'll start scraping at the bottom of the barrel within the next six months to a year."

"What about the increased enlistments?"

"We've got plenty more people in but none trained to the extent we need. Hell, most of the Typhoon pilots were trained for years on the Tornado and Jaguars and most of them have already been snapped up with the next generation of pilots already being assigned to the remaining Harrier and Tornado groups. Once they are experienced enough we'll be able to transfer the personnel needed from the Typhoons as the Tornado crews are transferred out. It'll be years before we can get any real numbers to expand the space forces, that's why I needed the meeting, sir.

"Logistics," he muttered. "What about the memory transfer machine that O'Neill's people are building by the dozen?"

"Fantastic equipment, however the memories are not necessarily the skills and abilities that go with them. We can use the memories to teach the pilots how to fly the 302s but that doesn't not include the muscle memory nor the experience needed to fly. It cuts down on the training time but it'll still take months to years to get the experience needed. We also lost so many pilots across the board in the Colonial Invasion attempt that we are short on instructors."

"Well, I'm hoping that you have something up your sleeve, Mister Franks. I don't believe that the public will accept the fact that we are unable to defend our own holdings."

"We... I mean myself and my staff have something of a plan but we need for yourself and the other members of the IOA's heads of sheds to sign off on."

"Alright Commodore, let's have it."

"Well sir, the Navy has always had a tradition to defend our borders and peoples; however we also have a much longer tradition of hitting an enemy with all guns blazing. Like the others, we can build ships like the Daedalus and Prometheus easily and in smaller numbers than the Americans can just with personnel problems with the fighter groups." Franks looked to the other man. "So, the plan is to do away with fighters completely."

Murray's eyebrow rose slightly as he sat back. "Carrier warfare has been the cornerstone of naval warfare for seventy odd years Commodore. Force multiplication and projection is usually needed when taking on an enemy especially at a distance from your home country, the idea also being that they are far faster and can do more damage from multiple tangents than the normal gun platforms that came before."

"That is true, sir and when you look at atmospheric combat and traditional force projection this is true. However our enemies have all had far more forces to bring to bear than we have. The Goa'uld, Wraith, and now the Colonials are capable of launching more fighters than we can hope to face without some incredible leaps in technology. To combat this we've returned to the basics by removing everything that involves the use of fighters, this has been exchanged for a far heavier AA battery of rail gun and anti-fighter missiles." The naval officer sat back. "However unlike the original Prometheus we don't have access to a single shot weapon capable of killing a Battlestar or crippling a Ha'tak. For us the more common rail guns and plasma cannons will be the main armament. Several new designs have come off the board and will be included in the new designs."

"So we're building a battleship?"

"Closer to a heavy cruiser Sir but yes, the vessel is basically now a gun ship rather than the hybrid cruiser/carrier that the original vessels have been designed as. We don't have the capability of building massive guns like we had on the larger wet navy ships of the past hundred years. Both Prometheus and Daedalus variants have been redesignated Achilles and Exeter respectively."

"Historical whimsy, Commodore?"

"We have an Ajax already Sir, it seemed the right thing to do."

"Naturally. What are the downsides to this redesign?" It wasn't a question.

"The logistics supply will be taxed slightly more as a new design of heavy rail gun will need to be constructed and fitted, production of armour piercing and Lucifer rail gun rounds will need to be sped up to equip these vessels. The reconstruction of the flanks will need heavy reinforcement and a larger fuel supply for the plasma weaponry. However the majority of the cost will be recouped by the removal of the landing bays, the on board fighter groups as a reduced crew. The majority of the designs are already complete and awaiting orders to begin construction. That is why I was attempting to set up a meeting between us sir. The three ships we have partially constructed are far enough along for the changes to be made immediately increasing our firepower by several times instead of launching carriers."

"You are sure that this is the best bet for us?"

"The Daedalus class is only useful as long as their limited missile and smaller rail guns hold out. A larger calibre of solid shells and those Plasma weapons that the SGC have designed will increase the firepower of a normal Daedalus by four times. A dedicated gunship will have more than twenty times the firepower of a bog standard ship," Franks said. "To boil it down, Mister Prime Minister, we have nothing capable of taking on their battlestars in one on one combat. Their flak and CIWS are far too capable for massed nuclear launches. They have more fighters in one attack fleet than we can send to meet them using every space based starfighter we can bring to bear, and with the exception of using Lucifer rounds we can't scratch the Colonial warships."

Murray held up a hand palm out. "I've got you Commodore. Without something heavier than the American's 'Deep Space Carriers' we'll find it more difficult to hold the line."

"That's the size of it sir. The fleet that stopped the Colonials were lucky. Without the Naquada we had in the warheads, not to mention the Mark Nine warhead the Americans have nicknamed the 'Gate buster,'" Franks replied sniffing derisively, "typically charmless name for an American weapon of mass destruction. We do however have a few ideas to increase the capability of the other ships. If they are deemed a success on the Exeter and Achilles then they will be refit onto the rest of our ships when they are rotated back for servicing."

"Alright Commodore, I'll look over this report when it hits my desk. If and I stress if, it seems to be a good plan then I will make the request to the IOA to continue construction of these new classes of vessel. Keep building the rest of the ships as best you can without compromising neither the next launch date nor the chance to build them with your modifications."

"We'll try Sir but with the supplies and technical help from the other races construction of the entire fleet worldwide has dropped by over a third. We may have to finish construction of this batch before we can add the new additions depending on the time taken by the IOA to make the decision."

"Bluntly speaking, until they get their heads out their arses and let us get on with the war?"

"You may say that sir. I couldn't possibly comment."

Murray smiled at the response. "Commodore, I'm going to suggest strongly that the Royal Navy is permitted to build these new ships as quickly as possible as long as you can confirm beyond any doubt that you can build them and keep them from costing too much more than the normal Daedalus. Also if you can prove to me that the ships will be that much better than anything else we can build right now then I'll also make the request to expand construction of our yards to allow us to build both classes in larger numbers."

"The cost of these ships will be far less than the carrier variants. We'll save both their construction and maintenance. I'll have the details you want by the end of the week. Sir, permission to speak freely and off the record?"

"Speak your mind Commodore. This is your command."

"I don't wish to sound unfair or biased sir, but I would suggest that you talk to the fleet Admirals before this plan is put through the IOA or the commons. I don't believe that neither they nor many of the other world's armed forces would accept a doctrine change so completely and so quickly. We didn't the last time and it cost us dearly."

"Another revolt of the Admirals, Commodore?"

"I don't think so sir, just a friendly warning."

"I'll heed that advice, Commodore; I'll get this underway as soon as I return to Downing Street. You'll have your answer within the next few weeks if not sooner."

"Thank you Prime Minister."

"Now care to show me around the Commonwealth's most advanced construct? I'd like to see just where our fleet will be built and how close we are to the next launch."

"Right this way, sir." Franks stood up. "I warn you though sir; more than a few of the people down there will be surprised at meeting you, especially those that aren't from this planet."

_**Planet 'Helo'**_

_**Colonial Expansion Zone**_

_**Cyrannus Sector**_

Darkness receded as the door to the locked room scraped open, the lone figure inside squinted into the light as it flooded the room. Two of the armoured figures that had attacked the encampment stood in the doorway. With armour and weapons in evidence the Colonial decided against making any attempt to overpower on or both of the men.

"You, come with us."

"Alright, alright I'm coming."

Unfurling from his single room he walked through into the lit corridors of the half crippled base. Since they had been overrun, the Colonials occupied more than one of the former living quarters that had been used to hold the soldiers and sailors that had been taken prisoner. Shielding his eyes as the bright light bombarding his senses he shuffled down the hall. One of the armoured nut jobs nudged him with the closed end of the staff pushing his forward faster.

"One more time shit for brains and I'll feed that thing to you," he growled.

If the alien recognised what he said he didn't show it and the three of them continue down into the command centre where he had met with Colonel Grant. The entire area had been transformed by the aliens into a parody of a throne room, gold and precious stones were scattered throughout the room. Silks, tapestries and cushions had been laid around what could only be described as the most uncomfortable chair the Colonial had ever seen.

Golden with leather seats and backing, a throne was the closest he could bring himself to think of it but a torture rack was the main thought to go through his mind. Why anyone in their right mind would want to sit in something like that escaped him. The thought that maybe the user was a masochist of some kind which would explain a lot about these people.

The guard to his right nudged him again with the stick right into the same area he had nudged him before. Spinning around the Colonial wrenched the weapon from the man and slammed the reverse end into the alien's face. Blood spattered from its mouth and into the air. Less than a second later that same guard found the top end of the weapon slammed into his damaged jaw shattering it and breaking the vast majority of his teeth driving them down his throat.

The Colonial didn't see the two staffs that collided with the back of his head sending him sprawling to the ground, the staff in his hands being wrenched from that as he fell. Boots and staff ends slammed into his body causing injuries on top of those already slowly healing from the attack on the base. He was still reeling from the head wound therefore he didn't hear a voice command them to stop. All he knew was that the beating had ceased, allowing him to breath.

"Bring him to his knees."

Two pairs of hands picked the young man up forcing him to his knees in front of the figure. Bringing his head up forcefully by the hair blood and sweat from the beating fogging his eyes he could only make out the grating double voice of the speaker. As she approached he swore that her eyes flashed gold behind green as his own cleared somewhat. Unsurprised at what he saw, he merely stared at the redheaded woman with the familiar face but unfamiliar countenance.

"Tell me why did you make that ill-advised attempt on an escape?"

"It wasn't an escape. I told him that if he hit me once more them I'd feed him his weapon. He hit me and I force fed him the flat end. Next time, I'll feed it to him the other way."

"The other way?"

"Give me a chance and I'll demonstrate it."

The alien merely laughed. "You are an interesting one, human."

"I like to keep my audience riveted."

"You will be a worthy mate for this host," the being replied allowing her red hair to drop across her shoulders. "She seems to already have feelings towards you, not love but very much an interest in you. You are fit and strong you will be the first of our new Jaffa. Both figure and mind will be modified to our preferences."

Walking up to the knelt figure she lovingly ran her fingers through his short hair before moving her palm to his face. Whispering gently to his face she activated the ribbon device pouring energy into his brain and body manipulating his mind and soul down to this very essence.

Karl Agathon screamed himself hoarse.

He would never be the same ever again.


	19. Chapter Seventeen

Chapter 17

'_**The Crucible'**_

_**Homeworld Security Command Centre**_

_**Nevada**_

"Red Alert all stations Red Alert! IOA defences to maximum readiness."

Jack O'Neill shot out of his office the other members of SG1 and Colonel Davis hot on his heels. The conversation about the Asgard request had taken up the majority of their time. The IOA were to be informed as to the request as soon as they could make sense of just what they were being asked for. O'Neill and company had been closed up in his office for almost an entire day trying to figure out just what was needed by the Asgard.

The Crucible's primary command centre was fully manned before O'Neill even managed to drop down to his chair. All around him dozens of technicians and officers were linking with other stations situated throughout the world. Communications operatives were talking to ships in orbit telling some to leave the system if they could otherwise to land or drop into orbit behind the defence perimeter.

"…Cargo at Nellis Air Force Base…"

"No, the satellites are not for sale…"

"Look the Wraith _'eat'_ any race they think they can get sustenance from. Yes that includes half human and half anything else you can name…."

"… That is kind of you to say. Both other ships are being angled to your underside…"

Jack hit the platform running stopping next to the command dais alongside the shift commander; a junior Lt, he had snatched from the SGC command room. He had done this once he realised that he wouldn't be able to reassign Walter from his place as Landry's aide and senior NCO, but then again Jack had realised without Walter the place would likely shut down.

"Lt, what the hell is going on?"

"Sir, we've picked up four ships incoming with a fifth a little way behind."

"The Daedalus?"

"I believe so, sir. Two of the ships share a silhouette and are towing a third larger vessel."

"The remains of the attack fleet," Carter stated. "They must be in worse shape than we thought."

"Can we get through to them?"

"I can try, sir," the comms officer answered. "Black Knight to Flying Wing, come in, Flying Wing."

Static from a badly damaged transmitter crackled through the speakers. Another request from the officer met with the same response. A further request was as useless as the first. Damaged systems or some form of jamming could have been responsible for either, considering the range. Gradually a signal began to break through the static apparently boosted somewhat.

"_This is Flying Wing... mming...sig... __ET... hours, twe...reinforcements requi... imm..."_

"That's the best I can get, sir. The Asgard may have a better chance at getting through."

"Put Thor on the line."

"_O'Neill."_

"Thor, you reading the incoming ships?"

"_Of course, one vessel is a Daedalus Class Battle cruiser; two are Asgard Beliskner Class Cruisers. And the fourth is a Battlestar. A rapidly closing Wraith hive is several light years behind them on a direct course for Earth's solar system. We are unable to determine how badly damaged the vessels are from this distance however we are endeavouring to contact our vessels for a status report. We will let you know if we are able to receive any information from the fleet."_ The radio cut off leaving the room in silence.

"Defence sitrep." Davis ordered.

"Houdini system is online. White Rook is acknowledging defences are active. Black Rook and Black Bishop are buttoned up and rail guns are in position. Shield covers are primed and ready for activation. White Queen has squadrons on rotation, 302s on five minute warning. White King, Black King and Black Queen are heading for shelters," comms reported.

"Bulldog wing, Eagle Wing and Alpha through Charlie flotillas are online and awaiting orders," Flight Command reported.

"All surface shielding is active, all defence installations are locked down and ready," the duty officer reported. "We're just awaiting the final ok from the Antarctic outpost."

"All things considered, I'm not sure that relying on the outpost is worth it this time," Davis replied. "We had information sent through a few weeks ago from the research team. It looks like the damage from the reactor overload was worse than we thought. Half of the launching mechanisms are out and we're down to less than eight percent of the magazine storage. Sir, given the fact that the Wraith managed to take down entire groups of Ancient warships armed with full drone launchers, I'm not convinced that what we have left will destroy it and if we use the entire magazine then the outpost will be useless."

"If they get close enough to fire on the planet, then we may have to," Carter replied. "I'm not sure the Houdini system can deflect or erase energy weapons of that power and size. Even without the cruisers and their darts we're risking a bleed over into populated areas."

O'Neill intently studied the screen in front of him. The Houdini system had been augmented by more launches over the course of the year, with ring of rail gun and staff weapon armed satellites around the east/west hemisphere divide. Even with the thin shell of weapons it was unlikely that they could take on anything bigger than a single Battlestar without help.

The fleet had fortunately grown far faster than many thought. He had misjudged the construction of the Prometheus class ships worldwide, as he focused more on the larger Daedalus class ships to be used as a defensive line. Four had been launched by the British, German and Russian shipyards within the last few days. While a lot of the internals were still missing such as crew habitation, the secondary systems and the fighter contingent were intact and battle ready. More than a score of the smaller Apollos were arranged around them in escort order headed at the front by the single active Daedalus class ship remaining in the fleet.

He desperately needed the damaged Prometheus and Korolev back and in working order for this fight but not even round the clock repairs and help from off-world could get them both in orbit and under their own power in the time needed. Without the technology inherent in those ships the only heavy hitter left was the Ajax. Her missiles and Lucifer round would hurt the hive but her newly installed pulse cannon would hopefully change the odds from impossible to only slightly improbable. All he could hope for was the arrival of the remaining ships of the attack fleet in good condition and order to make up the numbers.

"Sir, Commander Thor has a signal from our incoming ships."

"Pipe it down here."

"_Black Knight this is Flying Wing, do you read?"_

"Wing this is Knight, good to hear from you Daedalus."

"_Glad you can hear us, General. The Wraith are approximately three hours behind us. We should make it back within the next hour, less if we can find a safe harbour for the New Horizon."_

"Is she still armed and combat capable?"

"_Somewhat, Sir."_

"Then bring her back; we need the guns. We'll have a full resupply ready for your ships when you get back."

"_It'll take longer than three hours to rearm, General."_

"R&D are working on that Colonel. Watch your back."

"_We intend to, sir. We'll be with you at the battle, one way or another."_

"Black Knight Out."

The screen blanked out showing the face of Thor aboard his ship. The grey face was an inexpressive as always but still Jack could swear he could see a touch of annoyance and frustration under the mask.

"_The fleet, once they arrive, might tip the balance O'Neill, however I wish to take the forefront of the battle once the Wraith enter the system. If we are to request favours then we can at least give a reason for them to be accepted."_

"It's all yours, Thor. Give em hell."

"_I intend to O'Neill, I intend to."_

"Reversion alarm."

On the contact screen high above the personnel manning their station, four signals began pulsing as they emerged from hyperspace. Within seconds, all four stabilised the light green of friendly units while next to each signal data scrolled informing the room of the identity of the newly arrived ships. Several of the longer ranged telescopes picked up on the new arrivals. Still pictures and video captures appeared on the multitude of screens throughout the control room.

"Holy Hannah," Sam carter whispered

"They made it back after that?" O'Neill replied.

Each of the returning ships were damaged badly enough that it could be seen easily even from the rough video feed. As they closed with the ships already heading their way, the screen changed to a sensor display from the _Ajax. _ The four ships were a mess, blackened and cracked armour dotted the formerly grey and smooth hull of the Daedalus class warship. Entire sections of the hull were peeling up or down where impacts from plasma or solid debris had punctured the underlying structure.

As bad as the Daedalus appeared, the Battlestar behind her was even worse off. One of her fighter pods had been gutted by heavy fire leaving a hollowed out charred wreck attached by bent and torn pylons. The journey through hyperspace had added to the damage of the already compromised hull. More than one engine was gone and entire swathes of metal were missing from the armour belts that covered the entire ship. Turrets and point defences were gone and entire missile batteries were just holes in the structure now. If more than half of the ship was still inhabitable then the design and construction was far superior to most other ships.

Unlike the others the Asgard ships were visibly scarred and blackened but completely intact, their more advanced technology meant that the hull and armour was far stronger than anything that could be created by human hands. Combined with their shields and self repair systems both Beliskner Class vessels would look as pristine and brand new as they could after everything that they had been through, even so they had taken as much of a beating as the others had as the Wraith began to realise the large silver warships were far more dangerous.

All four began to slow as they broke from hyperspace. The human ships were badly damaged enough so that their engines would have failed under any heavier use. The fact that all four ships had survived the run back to Earth under such conditions was impressive and indeed a testament to the engineers and crew of each of the fleet ships. Several smaller vessels broke off from the cluster to the other side of the screen accelerating hard towards the four ships. Shields raised and weapons locked they scanned the returning fleet finding all defences and weapons offline.

"_Buzby to Black Knight, we are beginning flyby for positive identification. Weapons on standby."_

"Ok the transmission but hold it in the buffer until we have positive ID," Davis replied. "If it's them, then they managed to hold those ships together beyond anything that we could have imagined."

"Transmission holding Sir."

"_Buzby to Black Knight, Visual confirmed, One Daedalus Class Ship, One Battlestar, Two Asgard Beliskner Class. All scans indicate human and Asgard life signs, they're clean."_

"Thank you Buzby, escort the Battlestar to pre-arranged position and take flanks."

"_Acknowledged, Buzby out."_

"Buzby?" Captain Reynolds asked from the tactical table.

"British humour, apparently," Davis replied, "something to do with a bird and a telephone."

"I'll take you word for it, Sir."

The mass of smaller signals surrounded the massive block on the screen as it coalesced into the vague shape of a Battlestar. Slowly the monolithic vessel turned from the surviving flotilla and into orbit high above Earth. The Apollo class simply lay close by the flanks of the former Colonial ship awaiting orders while the Battlestar awaited orders to undergo replenishment.

"_White Bishop to Flying Wing."_

"_This is Flying Wing, go ahead."_

"_Commencing resupply in twenty minutes, have all crew standing by."_

"_Understood White Bishop, we'll be ready."_

Within the time limit already authorised the Daedalus class vessel a very odd plan came to fruition as the resupply and repair of the warship began to get underway. Flashes of light bounced throughout the vessel as the ship's remaining crew and injured were removed from the ship and placed at the mercy of the IOA's military hospital in Delhi. Replacing them was a new, fresh crew ready for the oncoming battle. Yet more of the lights slipped through the missile tubes and rail gun magazine. Where there were empty spaces were now filled with armament replacing the warheads and projectiles used against the Wraith horde. Lastly, a barrage of beams flashed across the command deck dropping a new command crew onto the bridge of the vessel.

"_Daedalus to Black Knight." _Teal'c began_, "Command crew are in position. We are currently commanding crew and weapons systems. All seems to be in order."_

The new helmsman could be heard over the channel._ "Missiles and rail guns read as fully armed. Crew are being counted as we speak." We should be ready to go once the shields have been reset.""_

Teal'c bowed his head to the other man. _"I have been informed the ship's weapons are ready for battle O'Neill. Once we have tested them and accounted for the crew, we shall take our place on the firing line."_

"Thanks Teal'c" Jack replied. "Black Knight out."

"I still don't believe that worked," Daniel responded. "No offence meant, Sam."

"None taken. I wish I'd thought of it. Since he got the Plasma cannon working Felgar's ideas have been gaining more attention and some of the stranger ones have been redressed. He reprogrammed the SGC's own transporters to resupply the _Daedalus_ and _New Horizon_ in seconds instead of hours. The Battlestar took a lot longer due to its size and complexity but still it was done in a fraction of the time. If the weapons and crew are all accounted for and active then we'll see about using that instead of relying solely on tenders."

"I thought he was on his honeymoon."

"He is, but..."

"Chloe's gonna be pissed," Daniel smirked.

"She was there helping him," Sam replied smirking back

"A stranger husband and wife I've yet to find," Jack cut in. "We've got three hours before the Wraith get here. Who's up for jello?"

_**Earth/Lunar orbital path.**_

_**Fleet rendezvous point.**_

Three hours later death came from on high.

After a wait of several weeks the Wraith had arrived, the eleven kilometre long ship broke free of hyperspace hull all but intact and weapons armed. The living hull absorbed light and head from the closest star increasing the regeneration and strength of the hull armour. Turning to face their new feeding ground the Pegasus natives watched the assembled ships of the Tau'ri's defenders.

On the surface rail gun batteries locked into position around their charges. Anti-fighter and anti-ship missiles dedicated to close range combat overlapped with the rail guns creating kill zones far larger and more deadly than anything that existed before. Nuclear warheads were attached with naquada charges increasing their yield by a thousand times. For once. Every nuclear power in the world handed their missile controls over to Homeworld Security willing to trust them to defend the planet against what was coming. Each connection could be broken from either end if any of the countries involved found their missiles being appropriated for any reason other than defending against extra-terrestrial enemies. More than a thousand specially rebuilt missiles had been put together to reach outside Earth orbit before they went into their terminal phase.

Deep inside a bunker below the Plains, Her Majesties Station Salisbury was fully active. The Houdini system activated the hundreds of satellites reorienting those outwards, pulling the web tight. Several dozen larger variants swung around towards the fleet the heavier weapons of the Artemis System receiving scans from the planet as well as the large number of ships in local space. The defences were designed around destroying larger numbers of lesser ships as well as their fighter contingents, but against something as large and as powerful as the hive ship this would only cause pinpricks in comparison.

The final defence, the Antarctic outpost, was active with a German Army officer now in command of the chair. At ninth or tenth in ATA strength, he was the only person except O'Neill within range of the outpost. The rest were either off world or were needed elsewhere for one reason or another. Powered by four separate new generation reactors would prevent what had happened during the last attack. This time they were taking no chances with what little they had left of the Ancient weapons system.

"Launch 302 Squadrons; go to hot standby on all atmospheric craft."

"Black Knight to all fighter stations, immediate launch of all 302s. Repeat all 302s immediate launch, rendezvous at outer atmospheric envelope. Primary target area will be transmitted by the flagship," Davis ordered through the main communications channels. "Atmospheric craft to hot standby, planetary readiness is at red."

"Carrier groups begin launch preparations," Comms began. "Ready squadrons for immediate launch once break through has been confirmed. Be prepared to reinforce other squadrons as when necessary."

"All fleet ships, this is O'Neill. Launch fighters and take formation."

The Ajax and Daedalus took point within their flotillas, Prometheus and Apollo class ships flanking both guns and missiles locked and loaded. The Battlestar New Horizon manoeuvred to unmask her forward guns, opening missiles hatches while loading their heavier guns with Lucifer rounds ready to take on the hive. Around her more Apollos and her own Raptor and Viper stood by missiles loaded and armed, but even with these ships there was far less firepower than had fought the Wraith Hives only a few weeks previously.

A handful of drone and nuke armed Puddle jumpers flanked the massive Battlestar hoping to lend their own firepower to the former Colonial ship. Their drones would be able to hurt the ship before it could break through the thin line that the allied ships had made. If not, then there wouldn't be much left of them to worry about the effect the Wraith would have on the Earth.

"Fighters have launched, Sir. 302s are in position or en route. Total commitment has been confirmed from all stations and airfields. Fleet command has routed to the Ajax due to damage caused to the Daedalus. We're the fallback in case of communications disruption during the battle."

"Bring up tactical view on the main screen. Separate our units from our allies' signals."

The massive screen changed from the global defence profile to that of the much smaller area of the fleet's defence position. Dozens of larger signals were separated from the melange of others holding the line around the planetary orbit. Clustered around each group, hundreds to thousands of tiny dots signalled the milling star fighters, mainly the F-302 superiority fighters. But handfuls of other fighters on lease or bought from other powers were taking their places with the fleet. Rounding them out were dozens on Vipers flown by volunteers from the Colonial POWs that had survived the battle against this hive once before or agreed to help in return for their own freedom back to the Colonies.

Several Ha'taks and a trio of Al'kesh backstopped the rest of the fleet holding position to encourage the rest of the line to hold. If the humans and Asgard were unable to stop the hive, the Jaffa would try their best to defeat the hive before they were forced to pull back or leave before being destroyed. Teal'c's request to the Jaffa High Council had been agreed upon and the task force dispatched within the day to assist their allies.

The rest of the force was coalesced into a third set or supporting ships, the single Battlestar from the surviving attack fleet and a handful of cruisers armed with both missiles and Lucifer rounds in prodigious numbers. A small number of allied ships from other powers had arrived to face the hive flanked by several more Apollos and the jumpers sent from Atlantis. In all, the firepower they had would be difficult to stop a single Ha'tak/. But it might be the necessary reinforcement needed to finish of the hive if it broke through the first line.

The two sides closed ranks. At the forefront, the fleet parted to allow the giant Asgardian warships to pull out of the line directly into the forward arc of the Wraith ships.

At point, the O'Neill- three kilometres of metal and crystals faced off eleven of biomechanical creations. The two most powerful ships of two very different races faced off in the space between the Earth and its sole natural satellite. The two flanking ships, both Beliskners, dropped back from the much more massive ship settling into position out of range of the Wraith ship. Their actions left their own Flagship alone to face to face with its foe.

Aboard the larger vessel the wraith known as Michael grimaced nastily as a hologram of a tiny grey alien materialised onto the bridge of the surviving hive, stood next to him the Hive's queen merely looked at the Asgard curiously but dismissively

"_This is Supreme Commander Thor of the Asgard, Commander of the Asgard fleet, member of the Asgard High Council allies to the Ancients, friends to the people of Earth and defender of the Protected Planets. Stop here now or you will be shown no mercy."_

"So an ally of those we destroyed and of those that will feed us well for many years. If you were able to stop this ship then you would have long before. Leave now and you will be spared for the moment, your bodies will be unlikely to give us sustenance."

"_We are aware of your people and of your disregard to the lives of the world below us and their brethren. You destroyed a galaxy and wish the same for this one, we are aware that we were unable to save our allies from you; we will not do the same for their children. As you have made your decision evident, in return I have been forced to make mine. To stop you and your callous destruction of those you see as little more than food or playthings you will not leave this system alive"_

"I do not believe that you have the power to stop us, it is a shame but then we can simply pick up where we left off after your ship has been taken out of the equation. Open fire."

Aboard the Wraith ship, dozens of weapons turrets moved into place targeting the silver vessel. As if daring them to pass, the Asgard simply stayed in place its own weapons stationary pointing forwards at the tip of the hive. With one voice plasma burst from the Wraith ship slamming into the shields of the O'Neill lighting up the sphere of energy surrounding the warship. Each weapon increased fire rapidly sending more and more pulses into their enemy.

The Asgard ship simply sat in space accepting the energy blasts.

While the incoming fire increased, the bridge of the O'Neill was far more sedate than the space outside of the vessel. Thor watched as the forward shields of his vessel faded in and out with every salvo spilling their energies across the barrier. Unlike his usual actions of simply taking on an enemy he needed to show the people of the Earth of just what their allies were capable of. He might be a military commander but through his years on and off of the High Council Thor had learned the necessity of politics. The show he was about to put on would prove to the IOA and the public that helping the Asgard would be prudent. Sitting back in his chair the small grey being activated the communications unit again this time simply sending his voice across the entire solar system for every being, be they Human, Wraith, Asgard or other.

"_So be it."_

Scanners throughout every fleet began to go crazy as energy readings aboard the massive warship climbed higher than anyone had ever seen momentarily overriding the stealth systems that the Asgard had aboard every ship in their fleet showing for a split second the pure power that poured through the innards of Thor's Chariot.

Huge pulses rained onto the forward hull of the hive ship the ionic weapons shattering the outer hull blowing holes through hundreds of meters of metal, chitin and flesh. Wraith soldiers and captive humans alive were vaporised as energy sliced through the inner sections, more explosions erupted from the compromised hull shattering yet more of the armour sending it spinning into space.

Even as the first bolts wreaked havoc across the massive ship's forward sections more fire hit the exact same parts of the hull blasting through weakened bulkheads. The effect was as if the hull were a sugar cube in water, more than a kilometre of the wraith ship seemed to dissolve under the first salvos of ion fire, plasma weapons and power supplies ceased to exist as the Asgard fire blew through the defences.

Every erg of energy available to the Hive ship blazed away at the oncoming storm plasma cannons overheated as they attempted to waive of the Asgard ship, concentrating everything they could on one spot on the shield did nothing as more power from the incredibly powerful Neutrino/Ion reactors reinforced the shielding. Moving forward slowly but steadily the O'Neill reset her weapons and began firing into the inner hull where the forward armour had been all but destroyed. The closer the Asgard came the more difficult it became to hit the massive silver ship forcing the Hive to turn away, weapons unable to pivot and keep a target stopped firing transferring yet more energy to those that could.

Mere seconds had passed since the fight had begun and the last remaining darts took to the air heading for the closest part of the Asgard hull determined to do as much damage as possible. Inside the O'Neill Thor watched as several attacked his shields while others made an attempt to find a way around to the rear arc where they assumed his shields would be far weaker. While the aft side was weakened compared to the immense energies deflecting the fire of the hive it was still more than capable of taking anything that the darts could do.

The darts closed strafing the shields and dodging the expected return fire running straight into a sweeping energy field that dissolved them completely removing them from the battle as is swatting a fly. Another wave caused the rest to disappear before shutting off. The darts had been less than useless in the battle as the Asgard ship ceased fire and move up and above the lumbering hive

"_The Asgard have existed for many millennia and we have fought and died to save those that deserve it, those who seek to destroy and murder others have been stopped and for as long as we live you we will not allow for the cold blooded destruction of any world under our protection. This world is one of those protected, you have made a mistake. One you will not make again."_

"Carter?"

"Sir?"

"The Asgard don't really show their emotions much right?"

"Not usually, so no Sir."

"So I would be right it saying that Thor could not have just seemed like he was pissed?"

"Normally so, yes."

"He's pissed isn't he?"

"I think so Sir."

The arcing O'Neill broke off its turn turning back to the hive spinning almost in place. A split second later, Thor ordered weapons free and watched as his ship hammered into the Hive with a full weapons salvo. Aboard the hive, the Wraith could only watch in horror as strips of armour and hull plating simply vanished under the probing assault of the Asgard ship's modified transporter waves while the exposed inner hull underneath was shattered by ion pulses annihilating the delicate internal systems flashing thousands of meters of corridors and junctions into so much dust and vapour.

The starboard side of the Wraith ship shuddered under the punishment. With the forward section already destroyed, the surviving 'prong' had already caused immense strain on the rear of the ship. The two flanking sections surrounding a massive gap in the centre were now only anchored by the rear engine blocks. As they took more and more fire, the two sections began to crack and sway under the movement of the Hive ship. Huge chunks of flesh, metal, chitin and armour exploded from the compromised internals throwing those parts into space. A final barrage from the ion cannons separated an entire three kilometre swath of the ship from the rest of the hull throwing the center of mass off of its axis. The Wraith ship had been doomed from the moment it had fired on the Asgard ship, but for them it was now far too late as they realised the true danger that they were facing.

Dozens of humans and Colonial ships sat staring in horror, surprise and fear at the massacre before them. Six ships from three races had been necessary to take down several Wraith ships. Time and again the Tau'ri had been found wanting as they faced the overwhelming firepower and size of the Hives unable to stop the deaths of other cultures. Even now they would find it all but impossible to stop this last hive from wiping out the people of Earth and by and large the rest of their allies, their only hope would be a large enough Jaffa armada to destroy the monstrous vessel.

That a single Asgard ship could so completely shatter its enemy so quickly was unthinkable. The Goa'uld had more than once taken on the Asgard to their doom, yet had seemed to be far more of a threat than this one massive ship had ever been. Still the assembled peoples from a half dozen powers galaxywide watched as this enemy found themselves so completely outmatched. Plumes of flame burst from the hull before winking out as their fuel exhausted itself by the single detonation. Shattered armour exploded throughout the ship, fragments vaporising under the bombardment unable to take the pure power of the Asgard's main weapons.

Aboard the Battlestar, the Colonial crew watched from view ports, airlocks and sensor scans piped directly to each ship in the fleet. Only a year ago they had attacked this world with far more ships against only six Tau'ri ships. Now the were silent witnesses as a single massive ship far larger than any warship ever built by the Colonials, was single-handedly taking everything that the larger ship could give and then hitting back even harder.

It was already known to the surviving Colonials that the humans had allies of a non-human variety. Those ships that had fought alongside them and taken significant damage were operated by these small grey aliens that had upgraded some of their ship's systems. Other ships had appeared during their forced orbiting on this world. Some of those some gold and pyramidal shaped, some green and blocky, all built by those that were not from the Earth or the Colonies.

Now they saw just what the Tau'ri could call on, a magnificently deadly ship beyond the dreams of their greatest scientists and into the realms of fiction or insanity. Another barrage of beams and pulses crossed in space impacting into shields and armour one dissipated into nothingness. Other beams vaporized everything it touched, turning into it particles scattering throughout space.

They, the great Colonial navy had attacked their brothers with the largest force in known history. Now they knew that if they had fought back with a single ship of this kind facing them, every man and woman in the fleet would have been destroyed in minutes. The Tau'ri were undoubtedly powerful but the fact that they could call on one or more ships like that was terrifying. If the Tau'ri had wanted them dead then they would have been long ago. It would take little for only three or four of those monsters to wipe out all life within the colonies. Even after the losses they had taken in the last battle, some of the Colonials refused to believe that what they were seeing was the true power of the aliens. Others knew that the battle itself could best be described as one between the Gods. That one ship was simply capable of destroying anything in its way scared them all beyond belief.

The Colonies needed to learn about this as soon as possible.

The Colonies were an insignificant part of one sector of an entire galaxy, one that could be destroyed in mere hours with no hope of stopping them. If the Colonial branch of humanity was to survive past the next few months, then the Quorum had to be informed to make an informed and blatantly obvious decision.

Aboard the other ships of the fleet humans and aliens alike watched the almost mythical power of one of the oldest living race was poured into an enemy for the first time in the memory of many races. Legend had stated that at the greatest time of peril that a great leader would stand up and defend their worlds from their greatest threat. For the Earth that time had come.

More energy pulsed from the Asgard ship under the hands of their greatest Commander leaving the Wraith ship to writhe and shudder under the immense bombardment of the O'Neill.

On the planet's surface, the IOA, Stargate Command and more than a dozen other stations were watching and recording every moment of this one sided slaughter. This was for the first time that Earth got to truly see what an Asgard ship was capable of when let loose. Fear and respect echoed throughout each and every man and woman who saw the footage, several of whom were already beginning to craft their own demands as to how the Asgard would leave their great project in the hands of the Earth.

"Increase fire, destroy that ship!"

"My queen the weapons systems have been damaged. All section throughout this vessel have been breached or destroyed." A series of explosions rippled through the ship throwing Wraith across the bridge. Backs and ribs were shattered as they collided with the bulkheads. Others crashed through control consoles, impaled by the bone like growths that attached the electronic equipment to the main systems.

"This is impossible! No ship living in this time can destroy one of our hives!" the Queen screamed above the sound of explosions rippling through her hive. As if to defy her statement, yet more pieces of the hull disappearing into the void. She could only stare at the readouts, forced to watch as power generators exploded annihilating the others close by. She turned and snarled at the wraith hybrid. "You knew of these people, these Asgard."

"Only what you know, that the Earth people had far more powerful allies than we had seen before."

"You knew they would destroy us!" she screamed. "The only chance we had to take our fill for the rest of our existence and now you have killed us."

"You were a fool to believe that two hives would destroy the entire defences of a single world that was more than ready for us. If you had listened to me we would have survived to destroy our enemies on Earth. Now the rest of our people have no idea how to make it to this galaxy and to allow our people to grow."

The Queen growled and slammed her hand into Michael's chest feeding on him. Screaming his own challenge, he backhanded the now former Queen clamping his own feeding hand around her neck absorbing the energy she already had directly from her body. Only moments, later the two way struggle ended the only way it could.

Already the vast majority of the crew and prisoners aboard the Wraith ship had been killed unwary of the oncoming attack. Only a very few at the very rear of the vessel were still alive yet knew they were unable to escape. The queen and her retinue were dead and her voice had screamed throughout their minds sending many mad while others simply died. None of them felt the burning heat of the Ion bolts as they shattered what little remained of the forward hull, the impacts setting off the generators and engine blocks.

Outside, the Asgard ceased moving as the last of their weapons fire annihilated the reactor shielding igniting the ship from the inside. The reactors detonated sending explosions throughout the shell of the vessel. Engines followed as the uncontrolled reactions blew through them. Incredible energies ate away at the living ship further increasing in power as it consumed fuels at an astonishing rate. As the last dregs of oxygen and flesh were exhausted, the fireball snuffed itself out in the airless depths of space leaving just a few square kilometres of armour and bulkheads drifting blacked and dead in space a mute testament to the victorious warship standing guard high above her.

"General"

"Uhh, yeah."

"Commander Thor is hailing us."

"Put him on."

A hologram of the diminutive alien appeared in front of the main display screen. Thor could easily have simply beamed them up, himself down or sent the hologram without warning. However once again, he had allowed his knowledge of politics to colour his intentions and informed them of his wish to talk to them instead.

"_O'Neill the Wraith ship will no longer be a problem. I shall return to the surface soon to continue negotiations in regards to our request. We do not have much time before I am forced to return to my homeworld."_

"Got it Thor. We're about ready to give the request to the IOA anyway."

"_Thank you for your prompt decision. It is my hope that you will agree to our request."_

"Thor Buddy, if I was up to me you'd have a cabin in the Bahamas and beer for life, but it's not in my hands." O'Neill shrugged. "_But_, I will put my support and that of Homeworld Security, the SGC and anyone else I can get my hands on to try and push it through. General Hammond, President Hayes and anyone else that owes me a favour will do so."

"_You are putting much on the line for us, O'Neill."_

"I put a lot on the line recently, Thor. I'm not sure that my actions will be forgiven enough for this request to go through."

"_I do not know what you mean, O'Neill."_

"Let's just say I'm not the IOA's favourite person right now and they might try to get at me through you," Jack replied. "I'll still do whatever I can Thor, just don't be surprised if they try to get something else out of this."

Confusion dotted the faces of the men and women around them. O'Neill merely shrugged and left it at that. Thor nodded to the General before the hologram disappeared leaving the four humans surrounding the space he had been. The two Colonels and archaeologist looked at O'Neill.

"Long story kids, and one that I think we should take elsewhere," O'Neill said. "Before it gets out that I might as well have shot myself, it might be less painful in the end."

_**Underground Sanctuary**_

_**Picon City Catacombs**_

_**Picon.**_

"Slowly my son, move slowly. You are still weak from the abuse you have taken."

Fitz's eyes flickered open slightly as he came to, he tried to move his arms only to find a couple of gentle hands holding him down. It was a very different feeling to the ropes, chains and rough hands of his jailors. Turning his head, he looked to a weathered but smiling face. The man spoke again reassuring the RAF Pilot that he would be alright. Giving up on moving he simply let his exhaustion, pain and the remnants of the drugs in his system send him back under again.

It was an indeterminate amount of time before he awoke again. This time he found himself almost alone with a single woman watching over him. _'Nurse or_ _Guard'_ Fitz wondered. The woman looked at him with a very beautiful smile before heading out through the curtains covering a dimly lit room. It was only a minute later when the woman returned with an older man whom he recognised as having spoken to him earlier.

"How do you feel?"

"What?"

The man nodded gently. "I asked you, how do you feel? We've been watching over you since we managed to remove you from the military base in the capital."

"Where?"

"All in good time, my son."

Fitz was slightly bewildered by the fact that he was no longer in the torture rooms nor the medical wing of wherever it was that he had been held. The coolness of the air and the smells were more natural than the insanely filtered air that he had been breathing for a good long while. While still unsure of what was going on the fact he had been kidnapped, drugged and brought to yet another underground base soured the idea that he might well have been freed. The major plus to this was simply the fact that if the psychotic Admiral and his bully boys were doing more than enough to break him, why would they change tactics so completely considering he was in a better state now than he had been for a long time? Well enough so that it would take them a serious amount of time and effort to begin to break him again.

"Where am I?"

"You are within our infirmary. Do you remember being rescued from the Fleet HQ?"

"Rescued… soldiers and the blonde woman who kept on helping me."

"Indeed, we needed to get you out before you were too far gone," the man said. "As it was, you had internal injuries several broken bones, blood was leaking into your lungs and clotting across your larynx. With the bruises and cuts that were inflicted as well as whatever else they put you through, just a week more and you would have been very dead."

"Why…." Fitz coughed the man walked across and picked up a water ration on the side of the table, cracking the top he helped the pilot to drink the water. "Thank you."

"You are more than welcome."

"Why did you get me out?"

"Not everyone on the colonies is your enemy my son. The fact that you were being punished for the actions of your people instead of simply trying to get information was wrong in the eyes of a great many of us that knew. Once we had a chance we came for you. It was luck that got us as far as we did since the military were determined to get everything they could out of you. We decided that enough was enough."

The man checked the small tube attached to the other's arm, clear liquids were mixing within the tube as it entered his veins. While unable to read the writing on the side of the boxes Fitz was able to recognise the medical symbol on the side. One not too unlike one seen in hospitals throughout his home world, it was likely something to replace lost fluids and sugars from his system.

"You speak English?"

"I am quite fluent yes but not perfect, not yet. During the first contact between the Colonies and the Prometheus we were sent a 'Contact File' by the people aboard your vessel. I was aboard one of the vessels in the fleet that met with the Prometheus. Once the command staff had realised that you did not speak Colonial standard, the crews were trawled through for those with a gift for languages. I was a simple sergeant back then in charge of a small detachment being readied for a possible incursion aboard you ship had it been a Cylon trap," the man responded. "Once I was discovered to be a language student as well I was given a copy of the file and began learning more of your language. It allowed me to understand more and more of the records that had been made of the meeting we had. Unfortunately the whole first contact became a problem and I was unable to use the skills that I was developing, however I was used as a translator to write speeches to be used against your people when we invaded your world."

"Didn't work, did it."

"Two of your pilots survived the battle against our vipers and were brought back to one of our worlds. Three of us that had enough knowledge of the language were used to talk to them. While we didn't get much out of them two of them allowed me to understand more about your world and its people and by this time the propaganda against your world was already colouring the people against yours."

"What happened to the crews of the fighters?"

"They died of their injuries a few days later," he said darkly.

"I see." Fitz replied. And he did see if his 'treatment' was any indication.

"Among the information gathered from the Prometheus and the survivors gave us was the fact that your people allowed for any religion to be practiced no matter how odd or archaic it was. To cut a long story short, I realised just how backward and violent we were to your people just because they refused to believe everything we told them and to join the colonies because we said so."

"So you deserted and became a preacher."

"No all at once my friend, but yes that was the bare bones of what has happened in my life over the last few years there is far, far more to it than that but this is not something to talk about here. This greeting isn't about me. I am here to welcome you Flight Lieutenant Fitzgerald to our home."

"So what do you want?" the younger man replied changing the subject back. "I don't have anything you can use."

"Want?" The man replied. "We do not want anything. You were held against your will and tortured and once we were informed of this we decided to break you out of your jail. It took several months to get even a single agent remotely close to you. Once we had, we knew we did not have time to waste."

"An agent?"

"Yes, we had a medical…healer?"

"Doctor, Nurse?"

"Yes, a doctor, a healer disguised as a lesser one. Once she had you under watch she was able to tell us everything." The man smiled. "You might recognise her as the blonde woman who looked after you. You were very lucky Flight Lieutenant Fitzgerald."

"I'll need to thank her," Fitz replied. "Now who the hell are you?"

"I am sorry. My name is Stuart Gregore formally of the Colonial Marine Corps. Now I am Padre and confessor to my flock, those of us who remain of the Church of the One God."

"One God?"

"Yes, we are aware that your world has a number of one god based religions. That which is unlawful on our worlds is practiced freely and easily by the vast majority of your peoples. The belief in one god has been a part of our history reaching back to the first race. Kobol was beset by wars based on our beliefs. Some were between the various clans, some due to differences in the same religions and some between those who followed the Lords and those who followed the one god. That final war ended with the exodus but even then both types of religion continued within the Colonies."

"Sounds familiar."

"We do not wish conflict with our people. We want the freedom to choose how we worship without scorn, without violence and without hatred something that we are unable to do so here." The Padre smile dropped. "For the last few months a small number of the more religious sects throughout the Colonies have actively hunted the family of the one god that have been identified. Thousands have died on every world. Many more in are hiding or have been incarcerated, labelled as enemies of the state by those same sects. We are unable to get to the others and those here in the caves are all that remain on this world."

"This is the world we attacked right?"

"Yes"

"So why would you help me? My people apparently caused all kinds of mess here. That psycho Corman told me again and again why he was doing what he did and that I could help them if I told them what I knew about the illness killing his people, damned thing is I have no idea how to stop it."

"We helped because it was the right thing to do. Not everyone is on the side of Corman and Adar and not all of them are our enemies either most just want to live and let live. The invasion failed and that should be that. No one expected that your people would come back and cause such carnage to our people. We have been attacked twice so far and expect more. Fear is a powerful tool and those dedicated to the end of your people are using that to their advantage."

"Ok, so you helped me out of the goodness of your heart. What now?"

"Now you stay here with us until you are healthy, then we find a way to get you away from Picon and keep you out of Corman's hands." The Padre smiled. "Wait a moment please."

The man disappeared through the curtains leaving the British man behind. Touching the bandages on his chest he struggled to sit upright. He was surprised to find his ID tags had been recovered and placed back around his neck. For him, like many others, the tags were seen as a talisman and they had been snatched from him within minutes of his capture by the Colonials. He guessed that they had used the information on it to keep him alive through his torture.

He had all but given up on being pulled out of wherever he had been kept to the point that he was willing to give them whatever they needed that he had. The lies that he had been spilling as they worked him over day in and day out had already pushed him to the brink. Only the few times he had been taken into the medical bay had kept him from breaking completely.

The curtains moved again as the young woman and the padre returned with a wheelchair. "If you are up to it, I'd like to show you around."

"Ok."

Moving him to the chair as well as putting the liquid bags onto a special attachment on the wheelchair they moved out of the infirmary and into the outside. Moving past the curtains, Fitz was shown the homestead for the Monotheists, built into a series of caves and secreted building materials the entire place was sealed against the harsh conditions outside. Hundreds of people were scattered, some praying, others repairing clothes and equipment while others were just sitting around talking.

"This is the largest number of our kind that exists on this world. There are two other enclaves elsewhere but we keep contact to a minimum in case any one of us is found by the government. Everything we have or need exists down here. Food water and other supplies were secreted down here over the last few years thanks to a few friends in high places. The rest was brought down when we were forced to go underground when the war began, the attacks on this planet just caused us to go deeper but has also allowed us to salvage a lot more than we would have been able to during a dedicated nuclear strike."

"So you need help from us to survive down here?"

"Not exactly. We have more than enough supplies to live comfortably down here for over a decade before we are forced to leave the confines of the caves, possibly longer if we are able to salvage more from the surface. We'll be fine for a good long while God be willing."

"So again what do you need from me?" Fitz asked.

"Nothing for the moment as I said but when the Tau'ri and their allies come for Adar and his people we want to be recognised as a legitimate religion in the eyes of your people and ours. If possible we would like to be allowed a place to call our own either here or somewhere outside of the colonies and the chance to live as we wish."

Fitz mentally cringed at the request. It was bad enough at home with the different factions that were fighting against each other. Even those that were basically the same religion with a different name or belief structure. The addition of yet another one and the need to watch them due to their precarious position as Colonial citizens would likely preclude them from being allowed to settle on any world the IOA or anyone else back home settled. It was way above his pay grade to make any promises or even think about what could be done, he was just a flight lieutenant in the Royal Air Force not some minister.

"Father, I don't think there's anything I can help with right now I'm not someone who will have any say in what happens."

"When they come for you after the war has ended we hope that our efforts will be appreciated by your people. You will be a hero to many from your world as well as others for surviving here and making it out again. I may not have been an officer but I'm well aware of the uses of politics and heroics for people to get their way. Our continued protection and care for you is in no way beholden to your helping us. We simply wish for you to put in a word for us when you return to you people."

The two of them had continued through the brightly lit caverns moving through the inhabited areas, passing by the massive supply piles deep in the rear and into another cavern. This one however unlike the others was barely inhabited by the Monotheists. Instead what flourished there were plants and animals of all kinds. Animals reminiscent to cows, sheep and other meat-providing species were scattered around being tended to while the larger amounts of plants were being tended to and watered. Other areas in the cavern were blooming with fruit and flowers.

"Impressed?"

"Hydroponics?"

"Yes, most of it was brought down here when we found out about the crusade. One way or another we realised even with the supplies we had we'd need something sustainable to supplement our rations and this seemed like the best idea. We've been building this up for a substantial amount of time. From time to time we have fresh milk, meat, vegetables and flowers to help boost our morale. Unfortunately, what we have doesn't allow for much so we ration it very carefully."

"How bad is it up there Father?"

"Very bad, the radiation and dust clouds have destroyed the ecosphere and polluted almost all the water on the planet. The majority of the cities have already started to crumble from the damage the storms are causing to the surface. Only those few places deep underground are still intact," he said, "mainly military bases and some of the underground transit systems. Those few left on this world are now quarantined from the rest of the Colonies completely. No-one is allowed on or off the world unless they go through military channels and even then most won't be allowed to leave because of the fears that they are carrying another killer virus."

"The virus wasn't a killer, I had a mild case of the flu a while ago before the mission. I don't know how it did what it did."

"Neither do I, but all I know is that it somehow spread throughout the entire colonies killing millions and crippling many others. We have little immunity to it. Its likely most of what Corman told you was the truth. It is far easier to use the truth against someone than a lie."

"Shit."

"Very much so. Come we need to get you back to the medical wing," The Padre replied. "I'm afraid that you still require a lot more rest and medical assistance before we can risk you leaving the confines of your bed for long periods."

"I've been strapped to beds constantly for however long I've been on this planet, can I at least sit up for a while?"

"I think that can be allowed, at least until you feel tired again. Exhaustion is still a very possible problem for you right now."

The two men left the confines of the hydroponics caverns heading back towards the rest of the people. Several of the older members of the congregation passed them greeting the Padre as they walked by while smiling or nodding to the wheelchair bound pilot. As they headed back through the room Fitz carefully observed the more or less happy and carefree of a vast majority of the people settled throughout the caverns.

He now saw more tunnels and caverns as they moved through most of them branching out into larger areas. Others led to into darkened rooms including a chapel with an idol on the top. Fitz concentrated on the layout. If this was a set up then the Colonial were going all out to try and gain his trust, something that could be as dangerous to him as the torture was if he let them know anything they shouldn't.

For now however he would play their games and if they were indeed innocent and simply wishing to help, he could figure out what to do about them later. As they returned to the infirmary, the Flight Lieutenant began to feel the exhaustion pushing against him once again. The short time away from his rest had taken much of the energy he had left. Quietly slipping back into the bed he snuggled down and fell asleep within moments, as the Padre left the room, allowing the pilot to sleep.

"How did it go?" asked Cassandra from behind the Padre.

"Well I believe he is unsure what to believe and I think he had doubts as to why we are helping him."

"He thinks we are a trap?"

"I don't know but after everything I'm surprised he's as willing to listen and as mentally capable as he is. Most others would be catatonic after the abuse he has taken."

"We did our best to look after him," spoke Cassie. "Miriam was willing to face down Corman to protect him. She could have been a serious help to us down here if we had brought her with us."

"We couldn't risk it, Cassie." He smiled. "She will understand why we did what we did. She will also be safe you weren't the only one of us within the confines of the fortress you see. If she needs the help we'll be there for her, my child."

"Father." Another voice came from behind; the blonde woman named Sally approached the two of them. "I have news from our brothers at Nova Madigon."

"Excuse me Cassandra, duty calls one again. The one be with you."

"And with you Father."

As the older man and younger woman walked away the genial preacher was replaced by the hardened and much more experienced soldier he had once been. Any news from the Madigon had to be bad. The fact that they had not heard from any of their people in months led him and many of the military personnel within his congregation to wonder just how bad things were becoming and if they were in danger of discovery.

"How bad is it?"

"Very bad Father," the woman began. "Three of our local dumps on planet have been destroyed by the attack, however our agents within the Bone yards have found out that at least one of the stockpiles that were awaiting retrieval at the Madigon has been discovered. The investigation has led to the possible discovery of the others in the yards. They have begun wholesale reactivation of anything less than twenty years old."

"Which ship?"

"The Warstar, formerly the Hades. More than a third of the equipment that had been stashed away was aboard that ship; Vipers, Raptors, missiles, fuel, gun rounds even a number of more esoteric weaponry that are no longer in use. All were earmarked for the base in the Trojan asteroid belt. The other lots were to be scattered at hidden caches already being built up by our brothers outside the system's edges."

"What about the other yards?"

"Nothing yet, however given the fact that they have discovered our pipeline it's only a matter of time before the Colonial Navy begin to track down the rest of our stockpiles."

"What we have already isn't enough. Can your cell keep hold of them outside of the local enforcement?"

"Where they have the rest of our equipment stashed, the Intelligence services will never find," the attractive blonde answered. "I'll have everything we can get retrieved immediately."

"Ignore the majority of the fighters and raptors if you can. We'll need the bigger ships and manufacturing capacity for when the time comes."

"As you say, Father."

_**Luxor Command Station**_

_**Colonial Supply Station**_

_**One jump from Colonial Border**_

Breaking dock, a single Battlestar slipped from her moorings and into space. Passing by a dozen or more ships completing their repairs, it flashed its lights in farewell to the station and its charges. Several of the warships outside of the main repair yards flashed their own back in acceptance wishing the Battlestar well as it moved to the primary FTL ump point at the far end of the Command base's scanning capability.

The newly refitted ships faded from both visual and DRADIS as its stealth and countermeasure abilities activated. The darkly painted hull seemed to absorb the starlight from around it making it all but impossible to see with the naked eye. The baffles attached to its engines and scanning systems reduced any emissions from within the ship. Finally the running lights and brightly coloured nameplates were covered over completely with retracting armour plates. For all intents and purposes the Battlestar Valkyrie was a black hole in space.

"_Command Station to Valkyrie."_

"Valkyrie Online."

"_Permission is given for immediate jump, long range co-ordinates have been uploaded to your system. Jump when ready."_

"Understood Command, wish us luck." Colonel Tigh replied.

"_Best of luck Valkyrie come home safe we'll be waiting."_

Newly minted Rear Admiral Adama nodded to his exec as he looked over the information he had been given by the admiralty. Once again Corman had buried his head up his arse and decided that we needed a sacrificial lamb in case the mission he had been sent on went to the dogs. The decision to retrieve a number of drones from the area surrounding the Earth's solar system was foolhardy but the belief that the Tau'ri would not have seen them as well as the intelligence that they would be able to garner from those same probes would be immeasurable.

Four of those probes had been in the system when the crusade fleet had been forced back to the command base. It was a miracle that there was only one confirmed destroyed in the massacre that had all but crippled the colonial fleet. The other three were still out there and had long reached the point where their databanks would have been filled. The probes were programmed to make their way out of the planetary system they had been dropped into so it would be a simple jump in and out of the edge of the system to pick them up and get out again.

The co-ordinates that they had been sent were based on those of the returning ships that came back from the crusade. Jumping from this one base to the ruins of the others would still allow his ship to make its way to Earth with very few jumps as opposed to the time it took the fleet last time. Within the month central command at Caprica would be sifting through billions of terabytes of data to find a chink in the armour of the Tau'ri and their world.

"Set clock for twenty seconds."

"Clock set and running."

"All hands this is CIC, FTL jump in Fifteen seconds," Tigh spoke through the handset. "Brace for jump."

"This is going to be a long trip," Adama murmured.

"Not that long if the Tau'ri see us coming in," responded Tigh, "even less so if they are waiting at any of the other jump sites."

"We'll play that card when we come to it."

"Jump in Three…Two…One…" The voice of Ensign Gaeta could be heard, "Jump."

The Guardian Class Medium Battlestar blinked out from the short range DRADIS, the last of the active supply bases and into deep space. Within moments the next set of co-ordinates were being modified from the series belonging to the last ships to leave now destroyed support station. It would be an hour or more before they were complete and a further three before the ship jumped to the next position. Leaving the CIC to his relief Adama and Tigh began going over the classified information that had been couriered in as Commander's eyes only from fleet command. Only a very basic plan had been delivered via the first courier beforehand and all they knew was that they were to continue out from the supply station and to the outer limits of 'surveyed space' a thinly veiled reference to the main jump point that had been the final jump for the crusade fleet.

Against his original orders Adama had returned command of Luxor Base to its original senior officer Commander Diane Anders. She had been reinstated using his new rank to its utmost especially in the view that she knew the stations and its attendant structures far better than he did. Now that she had retaken her position that had been unfairly and borderline illegally from her, Adama had been able to retake his place as a ship's master and Admiral. The remaining ships of his small rescue and evacuation fleet had been refit and repaired to defend the outpost from any attack.

– Or so they hoped.

"All three drones will be at the rendezvous co-ordinates before we get there on the other side of their sun on a course close to an exact opposite orbit of their homeworld." Tigh concluded, "If anything jumping in that side of the system will stop them reading our energy signature not to mention that it'll take far longer to navigate their way around the gravity well to intercept us."

"We'll jump outside their sol system then, send out Raptors to grab the drones. I'm not risking the ship for three unmanned drones, intelligence or not."

"I don't like this Bill. It's all well and good going after a planet with two hundred other ships at your back but we're jumping into the lion's mouth for the second time."

"The Admiralty need their intelligence to find out what went wrong when we attacked Earth. But I agree we're being sent on a fool's errand and no matter what happens once we get there, if we're seen we're going to be killed."

"Think they want you out the way?"

"They've vilified everyone else and they needed a hero. Looks like I've been chosen for that 'honour'. If we get back they have their hero, if not then… well by then they'll have simply been rid of another thorn in their side."

"The Tau'ri will want a lot more of us dead if they realise we're still spying on them," Saul countered. "Apparently they've decided that since they completely defeated us that first time that they will keep up the pressure. After Picon and now Caprica what's next?"

"I don't know, Saul. It's a case of even getting to the drones before they find us."

"Frak that! Even if we get them and get out there's nothing stopping them from overtaking us and picking us off at our next jump before we can get away," Tigh groaned. "The damned thing annoys the hell out of me. They'll have picked up the damn probes long before we ever get there, they've had long enough."

Adama already agreed with his XO. The stealth capability of the latest Colonial ships and probes were impressive beyond anything expected when they were designed. Those still sitting in the Earth's solar system would be all but impossible to pick up even by the most sensitive DRADIS systems in the colonies. If anything could be hidden from the far more miraculous scanners of the Tau'ri it would be those. Fortunately his ship was also equipped with stealth countermeasures, not to mention the compliment of specially modified vipers and raptors also on board.

He also knew that the danger of being discovered before they could pick up the drones would be at the forefront of everybody's minds. The devastation that had been wrought on the colonies was by far worse than anything that had happened in their own attack on Earth by several orders of magnitude. The fact that they had attacked first seemed to be ignored by the public at large back home. Although the majority of the public were outraged at the massacres at Picon and now Caprica as thousands of ships and shuttles had fallen to their deaths once the EMP had hit the planet, many more cared little for what was happening. That left the more fanatical right-winged religious types to push for the war. It seemed that now the fleet had returned and almost nothing except a single barely damaging attack had hit them the majority of the public believed the Tau'ri to be 'out of sight, out of mind'.

A dangerous prospect to be sure.

"If we get into their system and out again I want us to use a completely different set of jump sets. If they can see us I don't want them hunting us down on the way home."

"It'll take a couple of weeks more to get home that way but Ensign Gaeta can get the computers networked and spitting out new co-ordinates each time." Tigh replied. "I know how much you hate networks Bill so do I but we'll need every advantage we can get to get out of this alive. If we don't connect those computers to any external source we can build up the network and keep I from interfacing with the FTL or the main weapons trunks."

Adama frowned at the words from his Executive Officer. The hatred of networks by the older generation including Cylon war survivors was legendary. He as well as a number of other older Commanders had refused to allow fully integrated networks throughout their ships. Several of the older Columbia Flight I and II, their Class One Pacifica Class successors, the Guardian Light Battlestars and more than a half dozen other heavy capital ships were either non-networked or were capable of breaking their networks with a simple series of controlled explosions throughout the ship.

The problem was his best friend and exec was right. The six ships that had faced off their fleet had been able to cripple and then wipe out more than three quarters of everything they had with even more severe losses in the fighter corps. Without a semblance of networks aboard the _Valkyrie_ they would be even worse off than they were considering they would be outnumbered five to one if the Tau'ri had only repaired their ships. Considering they would now be on a war footing it was more likely they would be outnumbered by dozens to one and each ship could in all probability destroy his ship in short order.

Without the ability to rapidly compile data as well as lock target on anything that came in close, the Battlestar would be worse than useless, something that he had long since realised when the other ships returned. However given the fact that none of their ships could even scratch the smallest of the Tau'ri fleet, the _Prometheus_ herself the Battlestars and their escorts were helpless in battle unless they went all out which included a ramming attack, something still taught as a last resort to those that went through the war colleges. The loss of a Battlestar or a Destroyer in the case of the _Atlantia_ and _Tiller_ was worth it in the long run, especially with the fact that there were far heavier ships than the Tau'ri could survive if they were to face suicide squadrons.

Even so, the Valkyrie would be in dire straits if they were to fight even one of the Tau'ri's comparatively tiny capital ships. If a Battlestar the size of a Mercury could be taken apart piece by piece by one of the smaller vessels then what chance would a Class Three Light Battlestar have against one of them? Smaller, less powerful, without nuclear armament and currently without a full fighter cover due to his own orders, the Valkyrie was possibly less capable than a heavy cruiser or dedicated gunship. Even an older ship like the old _Galactica_ or the _Olympia _would have been a better test against the Tau'ri if it came to battle. All he could hope was that their stealth emissions would be more of a defence than pure weapons capability would.

"Inform the computer technicians to link together some of the computers but nothing is to be connected to an external system, communications, weapons, helm and life-support are off limits. Link it to DRADIS and the FTL only," Adama ordered. "Usual explosive decoupling at all times. If we get even a flicker of a virus blow them and jump us out."

"I'll get Gaeta on it," Tigh confirmed. "Something else you might need to know. The crew are not overly sure about this mission Bill. The fact you've cut the crew by over a third has a lot of people worried about getting out of this alive."

"I'm not sure we will Saul. I removed anyone who wasn't absolutely necessary to the welfare of this ship and its crew so we didn't lose any more than we need to. With their technical superiority, our fighters would be useless – so will just about everything else we can throw at them. We are down to half the crew for that reason. If we are captured then few of us will be missed by anyone back home."

"We are risking a lot on this Bill; one light Battlestar to pick up a pair of drones that might not even exist any more," Tigh mused.

"I doubt it's that much." Adama removed his glasses. "There no intelligence they can get from us that they don't already have. The crew has little to no family left at home and this ship is regarded as almost useless to people like Corman. They sent us to retrieve the probes or fail; either way they get what they want in the long run. Good riddance to a problem ship and a problem Commander."

Tigh grinned. "Problem Admiral you mean?"

"Admiral my ass." He snorted, "I'm an Admiral because they needed someone out here with authority and I'm all that's left. Odds on I'll lose that rank due to some bullshit reason or another sooner or later."

"Or they'll throw you to the Galactica to rot." Tigh raised his glass. "An old man for an old girl."

"If I get transferred to the old girl, it'll be for something that'll make a mess of everything else I've done out here. Besides considering the state of the fleet right now she'll be refit and rebuilt instead."

"It'd be easier and cheaper to build a new ship."

"Probably but it's not as if we have a huge surplus of slips anymore."

"True enough." Saul looked down at the plans of the table. "We could afford the loss of a ship of any Columbia subtype if we had to Bill. Why not put us on her then send us all?"

"Politics old friend, always politics. Adar and Corman have to show they are determined to find a way to take on the Tau'ri. We're that sign."

Saul merely nodded at that, the politics of the job was always something that went over his head and deliberately at that. He ignored what people in the hierarchy thought of him and his actions. He was happy enough as an exec under an old friend than he would be commanding his own Battlestar. Another problem had been the fact that more than once he had been unable to keep his opinions to himself. His direct reply to one of Corman's idiotic questions had seen his career dropped back years. The fact that Corman was still recovering from that blow to his ego and authority had made Tigh a very happy man. Being dropped to the bottom of the promotional list as well as being kept from leaving the ship he was serving on simply played into the man's hands.

Being sent to the Tau'ri was a sign to the people that the Colonial fleet wouldn't allow the attacks on their worlds to go unopposed. While most no longer cared what was going on in the war and believed that they would be left alone if the Colonies left the Earth alone, a large number were afraid of just what was possible and how they could have misunderstood the intelligence they had. A small minority were still pushing for another attack and invasion as the will of the gods. That minority however were quite vocal and still held some sway over the quorum and the military as they had since the Prometheus had been discovered.

"Keep us on course for the Tau'ri System Saul. We'll try a jump and scoop for the probes instead of throwing out stealthstars or raptors."

"You sure?"

"If they pick up the stealth ships then they'll find us anyway."

_**Battlestar Pegasus**_

_**Unknown Space**_

The Pegasus appeared with a flash of light, returning to its temporary home in deep space. Testing of the hull and the replacement parts scavenged from the cruisers had held up during smaller and longer range jumps. Since the shakedown had been completed the Battlestar had begun jumps throughout the local star cluster, dozens of stars had been visited with more than one holding a life bearing planet.

With the exception of the Cyrannus system itself habitable planets had been few and far between in explored space. With only a few desert or ice worlds among the more uninhabitable planets surrounding their space on almost all sides, the Colonies had been forced to curtail colony exploration for a good while. The fact that so many bounteous worlds existed around the Tau'ri's home system was an incredible reward for a planet that should be rights be as well off as any single planet within the colonies.

"Jump complete Admiral. The Pegasus is fully operational."

"Thank you, Colonel. DRADIS report."

"All clear, Sir." DRADIS reported, "Planet has no orbital material, no sign of aerial travel. Looks like it's another empty world."

"Another one?" Belzen said in surprise. "Sixteen habitable worlds in less than a half dozen sectors. That's more than enough to transplant the entire population of colonies if it ever came to it."

"What's so special about this section of the galaxy that allowed for so many of these worlds, none of which seems to have been terraformed in any way," mused Cain. "Ok so we continue on, we need to find something to even out the odds if we have to take on the Tau'ri."

"Helm, plot course to next system," Belzen ordered. "Set clock for two minutes."

Several minutes later, the highly modified Battlestar flashed into existence in another system, DRADIS scanned throughout the system picking up planets, moons, asteroids…

…And a single unclassified return.

"Contact, artificial construct detected."

"Location."

"Hundred thousand kilometres port side," DRADIS replied. "Course shows it's drifting. No power readings detected."

Belzen hit communications. "Raptor deck launch defence Raptors."

From the forward end of the ship a pair of large doors opened. Because of damage caused in two separate engagements, the Pegasus had gaps in her armoured frame that were hurriedly sealed with pieces from other scrapped ships. During the time in deep space repairing and refitting the Pegasus with parts from the other ships, the Raptor launch facilities from both ships had been cut down and integrated into the damaged flank of the Battlestar. The Battlestar had regained some small ability to launch the small craft, but those few they had managed to transfer aboard were now the only fighter/recon ships available to the Colonial ship.

With such immense losses and the forced reconstruction of her warship Cain was unhappy to have a chink in her armour as large as she had, the rest of the ship had been resealed with the hull plates of the other ships and mostly repressurised leaving a scarred and patched hull but a serviceable warship. Four of the Raptors burst from the larger ship straight towards the unknown signal all armed with guns and missiles, two further equipped with teams of marines awaiting the order to take down the other ship if necessary.

"_Raptor 449 to Pegasus Actual, we have visual on unknown vessel."_

"What is it, Lt?"

"_Some form of small vessel, grey in colour size approximately that of a small marine drop ship. It is ballistic as DRADIS said. It's tumbling slightly on its course but I believe it to be dead."_

"Threat analysis."

"_None I can see Sir, no power, no lights and no weapons we can read. It's cold and dead."_

"Take up guard pattern and await further orders."

"_Understood, Raptor 449 Out."_

It took a few moments for the four scout craft to take positions around the unknown ship. Taking equidistant and overlapping orbits the Raptors were able to lock their weapons without running the risk of hitting the others. Slowly the massive Battlestar lurched forward towards the derelict their own guns turning and locking as they came to bear. Even though it seemed that the Tau'ri had not penetrated this far into the interior of the spiral arm there was nothing to say that they hadn't seeded traps like this to lure in other Colonial ships to their deaths.

As the Pegasus pulled in close the oddly shaped craft simply sat in space uncaring as to the pure consternation that it had caused the crew of the other ship. The Battlestar ceased its forward motion as it came flank to rear awaiting the orders that would allow for the Raptors to tow it into the ad-hoc hanger bay.

"Whatever it is, it isn't ours, Cylon or Tau'ri."

"So what do we do?"

"We board her," Cain said. "Raptor 447 this is Pegasus Actual, begin docking procedures. Check that entire thing for booby traps or any sign it's from out 'friends' from Earth."

"_This is Raptor 447. We can't read a docking port or hatch on the vessel. We may have to breach the hull."_

"Do whatever is necessary but I want to know if that thing is safe to bring on board." The Admiral nodded to herself. "Breach the hull and do a full external and internal check. Once confirmed bring her into the hanger."

"_Reading you Actual. We'll do what we can."_

Several hours went by as the external check continued. Other than a number of burns and rents across the hull it was in relatively good condition and intact as they could make it out to be. As confirmation came through, two of the four Raptors pulled out as a third picked up the space suited marines and crewmen. The last of the small Colonial craft continued in until its side hatch came up to the side of the small alien ship.

Two blocks of blasting explosive barely scratched the surface of the vessel causing little more than to mostly correct the tilting spin. Another half dozen were used again finally making a crack in the hull. A pair of cutting torches and more explosives finally allowed the marines to make a hole large enough for a single armoured trooper to move through into the internals. Several other managed to make their way through enough to equip a full fire team as they went through the small vessel.

"_Pegasus Actual, this is Marine Team Alpha. Unknown ship has no life support or gravity online and seems to be deserted. Continuing into the inner hull."_

"This is Actual, the second something seems off Major, get your people out of there."

"Understood."

"Sir, you might want to see this." The Major turned as he signed off on the radio. Two of his marines were standing over a large turret of some kind. Multiple barrels from the weapon had been detached and now lay upon the floor alongside parts and tools; someone had obviously been cannibalising from the weapons.

"It's dead sir, no power but the thing is it has no ammunition feed at all."

"No feed or just nothing attached to it?"

"Both Sir. The entire loading system seems to be a solid piece with what might be energy conduits feeing into it from below."

"An energy weapon?"

"Very possible Major. I'm not a scientist but if this is a weapon then it's not like anything we have."

"Continue the search…"

"Team Beta to Team Alpha One."

"Speaking of which," Keenan said, "this is Alpha One, report."

"Sir, you might want to come to the back section. We've got something here."

"We've got something here as well Corporal. Give me something more." 

"Bombs, Sir."

"Say again?"

"We have some kind warhead stacks here Sir. Dozens of them, all inert."

"Pull back Beta and rendezvous with alpha in the central section."

"Acknowledged," Beta replied.

The Major looked around the section and with the exception of the turret the entire area was clear of obstructions or supplies of any kind. The rear section doors were wide open as they were when the arrived however the forward section while also completely open was unchecked. It seemed odd that with so much weaponry aboard this vessel that there was no crew to be seen. Moving through the open doors to the forward section his team followed as the other took guard positions towards the hull breach.

The forward section was as desolate as the other sections, no equipment or tools scattered around, no sign of the usual accoutrements that a ship's crew would have aboard. Even the head seemed to be missing the requisites, completely sterile and metallic the only colour differences being some slight gold and bronze colourings on the walls and control surfaces. However they were finally able to find that at least one of the crew had still been aboard when they had been trapped in deep space.

A single figure sat in the pilot's chair as far as they could tell his body long since mummified and bloated by the exposure to a lack of atmosphere aboard. He was dressed in what had once been finery and jewellery that harkened back to the monarchies that had once controlled several of the colonies long before they had allied with the others. Even then, several thousand people throughout those worlds still used the titles that they and their forbearers had been gifted.

"Pegasus Actual, we've found the pilot. It's dead, long dead by the looks of it."

"Human?"

"Humanoid Sir, two legs, two arms and a head, dressed in some kind of strange clothing and jewellery, little else to indicate what they were. The bodies suffered damage by vacuum and possible decompression. The ship is definitely a combat craft of some kind however its weapons seem to be dead possibly cannibalised, as far as we can tell. Sir, the entire ship is simply a derelict. Once we've completed our internal checks we'll tow her into the hanger bay. In all Admiral, this ship is like nothing we've seen before. I can't tell if it'll be of any use."

"Acknowledged, Major. Actual out." Cain turned to her exec. "Jurgan once the ship and Raptors are aboard jump us to the next system and find us somewhere to hunker down. I want to have a closer look at this derelict and would prefer not to be interrupted before we can figure out what it is."

"Understood, Admiral," Belzen replied. "If this isn't a Tau'ri trick then it may be something that belongs to one of their enemies. We've already been told they're are far more dangerous than the Earth colony. If they find out we've stolen and taken apart one of their ships…"

"If it is then they don't know where it is to retrieve it," she countered. "But be ready to blow the hanger deck and get rid of it if it becomes necessary. If it means keeping this ship and its crew out of enemy hands, no matter who is on the deck, anyone is expendable, including me."

"I can't say I agree, Helena."

"You don't need to agree, just follow orders old friend."

Six hours later the Battlestar Pegasus jumped out of the unknown system and into deep space, its hanger bay holding its retrieved Raptor pack, its marines and a derelict alien craft known by its builders, crews and its enemies as an _Al'kesh_ class bomber.


	20. Chapter Eighteen

_**Chapter 18**_

_**Ragnar Anchorage**_

_**Second Fleet Command Station**_

_**Colonial Deep Space**_

**Ragnar**

A gas giant at the outer edges of the Colonial system.

One deadly to the Cylons.

During the latter half of the Cylon War with the Colonial fleet in dire need of a mid range base for their ships, the Colonials began construction of an anchorage high within the upper levels of the Ragnar gas giant. Brand new and state of the art at the time, Ragnar had been developed and built as a fall back for the Colonial fleet if they had been pushed back from the front lines near Cimtar. Once operational, it had been capable of refitting, repairing or resupplying more than forty warships including the entire fleet of Battlestar groups that were holding that section of the line, the sixteen vessels headed by the Columbia and Galactica.

After ten years the Anchorage had been shut down with the remnants of the staff simply transferred to newer positions closer to the home worlds leaving Ragnar as a simple supply station with barely enough to equip a single battle group. More than once the station had been raided by arms smugglers, pirates and the occasional Colonial warship in need of a quick supply dump; indeed one such arms dealer had been discovered aboard the station and shot within seconds of discovery. However with the beginning of the war against the Tau'ri and the loss of the Picon Anchorage, the military had decided against building their new construction facilities in orbit of any of the other worlds. In response to the demand to rebuild the damaged forces as well as a new anchorage to hopefully boost the damaged economy of the Colonies, a massive undertaking to rebuild Ragnar began.

The two tiered rotating platform was rebuilt and improved to allow for hundreds of warships to be constructed or refurbished. The central spire had been modified to allow for twenty battlestar-sized warships to be constructed, all of which would be consist of the larger Pacifica or Mercury Classes. Around them fifty escort class slips were also being built while a number of already active yards were repairing or rebuilding ships that had been damaged or crippled by the Tau'ri assault on Picon and the remnants of the Crusade fleet. Several more damaged Battlestars sat drifting close by awaiting their own turns within the shipyards. Ships that were beyond saving were being dismantled with their parts already on their way to repairing other vessels.

Hundreds of thousands of construction workers, shipwrights, refinery experts and mechanics had been stripped from across the Colonial fleet. The Auxiliaries, most of the Army Construction Battalions, the Naval Construction units, and even huge numbers of cleared civilians that could be spared from the planetary rebuilding across the Colonies were involved with the rebuild. Half a million men and women had been brought covertly through roundabout ways and hidden jump routes to Ragnar Anchorage in order to rebuild it. Several of the remaining parts of the now-destroyed Picon Anchorage that had been outside the explosive yield were attached to the main wheels of the slowly spinning station,

Dozens of decommissioned construction slips and the near equivalent of an entire planet's worth of refineries and extraction plants which had sitting idle had been requisitioned by the military. They were transferred to other parts of the Cyrannus sector. Each was then checked carefully before being transferred to Ragnar. Once complete, the station would boast enough resources to re-equip a force twice the size of the crusade fleet. For the moment however, the majority of the space available was being used by the defence force.

Hundreds of Vipers and their attendant Raptors were already on station to defend the base against any on-comers. Hanger bays and launch channels were already in place, spewing out a dozen fighters every hour as patrols came in and out. One of the largest sat close to the command 'head' of the station allowing Raptors and shuttles both to land and hard dock or lowered into the pressurised lower decks. One larger cargo and personnel shuttle flew down and into view its IFF system automatically classifying the shuttle as a friendly by the station. No sign of radioactive material or explosive ordnance was evident as they closed.

The small craft landed smoothly and quickly as its communications officer sent answer to challenge after challenge before even getting close to the station. A trio of Vipers took position to the rear ready to take the shuttle down if needed. A final series of passwords and orders were exchanged between the shuttle and station before the fighters were ordered away from the incoming craft. Aboard the station however the senior officer aboard the station stood awaiting the newly arrived vessel in a pressurised hanger beneath the armoured decks of the hanger bay. Fidgeting slightly as she fussed with her uniform as she waited for her replacement. It wasn't everyday that she was removed from active command of such a prestigious posting in favour of a living legend.

"Admiral, welcome to Ragnar Anchorage," she greeted the new commanding officer as he stepped out of the shuttle proper, straightening up he took her proffered hand and walked alongside her as they left the shuttle.

"Thank you Admiral. Status please," the newly promoted commander of the Anchorage said as he walked across the decking towards the closest lift, with the former commander close on his heels. Entering the lift, he pressed the button for the main throughway for the station as his first stop. It would take him a good few minutes to get from here to the midpoint of the expanded station. His trip to the control and command centres would take far longer.

"The station is active and approximately sixty seven percent complete with several more of the older dry docks are being refit and brought up to speed. But the chief has assured me that they won't be capable of building anything larger than a Columbia Flight II unless we expand each of them by at least a half. I have been informed that they are in perfect size and condition to turn them over to mass producing Guardian Class Battlestars as well as using several of them to build the hanger bays for the next generation of Kobol Class Warstars," Admiral Hart replied. "Both Viper and Raptor Squadrons are partially manned but seriously under strength, capable and cleared pilots are being brought in but very slowly as Intelligence is still checking into the backgrounds of each pilot. It'll be a few months before we are at full defensive strength but we are already at full strength with Mark Four and Mark Seven fighters."

The Sevens were good, fast fighters outstripping every other fighter the colonies had ever built. They replaced the Mark Fives and Six Bs that made up the vast majority of the fleet's small craft firepower. While the majority of the fleet were rapidly being outfitted with the fighters, the loss of so many of the largest ships meant that entire squadrons were being outfitted for base defence. That was also where the Fours came into it because unlike their sister class, the Fours were pure ship killing heavy fighters capable in twenty man squadrons of taking down even the biggest Battlestar or in the Cylons case their main base stars.

Hundreds of each was supposed to be made available for the defence of Ragnar but for the moment less than a third would be manned at any one time. More could be operated if they took pilots away from their positions within the Raptor squadrons or activated older pilots that hadn't flown in years. A lot of the stations command staff would qualify, but for the moment he would have to do with what he had.

"Defensive systems?"

"Dozens of nuke batteries both missile and cannon versions, heavy KEW weapons have been increased and supplemented with lighter faster firing models with another dozen Mjolnir class HKEWs currently being built into the spine of the station. Our AA defences are six times that of the similar sized forts around Caprica and Picon. However, both projectile and missile based, intercept missiles and ECM drones are at about half our usual stocks."

"That little?"

"Most of the useful stuff was taken out when Picon Anchorage was destroyed by the Tau'ri. The majority of the missile stocks left available have already been gobbled up by the increased defences around the home planets or have 'disappeared' as they got to certain battle groups closest to Caprica and the other inner worlds. Logistics Command has been gracious enough to inform us that we'll receive the rest of what we need when they are available. Of course their estimates put that at four months or more." Hart added. "The 'tunnel' is currently equipped with six separate mine fields that get progressively nastier as you come though. They're IFF equipped. The majority are nukes or fusion demolition charges although several are experimental EMP and hyperionic radiation mines with the H-Rs built almost wholly here on the station."

"No mobile assets?"

"Only a few ships outside of the Viper and Raptor groups. Twenty post-war short range gunboats and nine heavy cruisers, all modified to be used as missile boats, but unfortunately with the lack of replacement missiles we'll end up with useless ships very quickly."

"Idiots the lot of them. What about passive systems?"

"That we were lucky to get. With the loss of Picon and the entire wing of Spectre Class stealth Battlestars, their passive and active ECM systems were made available to the station. Sixteen Shadow generators and almost a hundred Wraith Class emissions systems. If anything gets through the barriers and into the defence zones they'll find it all but impossible to lock onto anything/ Hell, I'd give good odds to that much ECM frying their systems."

The lift stopped at the last point on its travel to the central spire of the station. Both officers disembarked into a long corridor branching off into more than a score of different corridors while several lifts were seen moving up and down the spire itself. Despite himself, the Admiral was more than impressed at the work that had been done in only eighteen months. Even with the original station to base it on, the changes were more than remarkable and now he had to take the station off of the hands of the person responsible creating this baby.

Continuing through the concourse towards the next lift downwards he contemplated the idea that their massive amounts of ECM might well be all but useless against the Thirteenth Colonies' ships. They were more than likely hardened against EW warfare, not to mention that they might simply cut through the interference with their advanced DRADIS types and use their own ECM to jam the Colonial communications much as they did at the First Battle of Earth.

"With these Tau'ri I doubt it, Admiral. Their own systems on those tiny little frigates of theirs can override the best computer systems we have. They may just use our ECM against us as the Cylons did. But we might as well use them while we can."

"Yes Sir. Actual construction of warships will begin within the month; however we have a number of ships already undergoing refit and repair already. The problem is that the majority of them are much older ships but they were some of the only intact Battlestars that we could get into service quickly enough."

"Classes?"

"Columbia and Columbia Two."

"They really are scraping the barrel now."

"The Galactica and Pegasus are both in their final fitting out. Command has ordered total armour coverage for both ships and networking throughout. Commander Nash is seething at the order especially as neither he nor his father have ever allowed for networks on their ship." Hart smirked. "Once completed each should be the match of a Class Three Battlestar."

"Full armour hmm, about forty years too late for their sister ships. Still not bad for fifty year old relics," the Admiral mused stepping into another lift. This one however, requested a handprint check and a keycard. He grimaced at the very idea, things were returning to the way there were before the war and not in a good way. "Considering their lack of real fighter use, the Tau'ri aren't a threat in that theatre quite yet. Have the available dock begin construction on Guardian Class flights Two and Three, ignore the flight ones. But keep one quarter available for Columbia Two construction unless told otherwise. The fleet has enough fighters to take on the Thirteenth Colonies' fighter forces but we need ships to take their heavier vessels on and the Guardians are the fastest capital ships we've got. They are also far more disposable as a whole than Class One or Two Battlestars."

"Disposable?" Hart's eyes widened. "Sir, no ship is disposable."

"I'm glad you think that way Admiral otherwise I'd have to have you shipped out with the next rubbish tow out of the system." He straightened slightly. "Two hundred ships were routed from the so-called 'Crusade' against the Thirteenth Colony by a handful of ships and less than a Mercury's load out of fighters. A third of those ships were the biggest and best of the fleet's major warships. If we are going to be able to rebuild the fleet-and the trust that the people used to have in us-we need to build more of those and we can build them faster than we can build the larger ships. If the people see dozens of new Battlestars flying around they'll be much more willing to believe that we are going to fight for them."

He sighed before closing his eyes. "The very crux of this however is the fact that a Class Three, like the Guardians are smaller, less resource intensive and less crew intensive than a Pacifica or a Mercury. If we lose one we lose far less than if we lose a larger ship, but if we lose a Class One ship then we've lost thousands of men and millions of tons of construction compared to less than a thousand and maybe three hundred thousand tons. Its numbers plain and simple and I have to somehow get a crippled fleet on its feet and expanding without bankrupting the Colonies and its citizens.

"I understand," Hart replied. "Should I contact command regarding your orders, sir?"

"They sent me here because they believed I knew what was necessary to take on a force that outguns us by an incredible amount. My orders will show I have the authority to decide on the ships needed for construction. However if you want to check I won't stop you, after all I'm a newcomer and you've been building this place for a year and a half. But once you're done I want to make you an offer."

"Sorry sir, but I'm taken," Hart replied smirking.

"Very funny, Admiral," the high ranking man replied before leaning against the wall slightly, he had been on his 'feet' figuratively for most of the last thirty hours. Given very little time to get to grips with his new posting he had been forced into, he had read and reread the information packages that the Admiralty had foisted upon him. Fortunately he had always been a fast reader and had made it through the schematics and personnel files in short order.

The station was a beast of a design for an old man to run, with over half a million military personnel as well as almost three times that in civilian or reserve personnel. This one station would be one of the biggest and most intensive constructs build in the last few decades. His files had shown the second and third generation refits that the station would go through over the next five years; more shipyards, more fighter bays and more prototypes than you could shake a stick at and all under his charge.

It had been a long time since he had had own command and only the losses taken by the fleet had forced the recall of any able-bodied and even several not so able officers back to the fold. He had retired years ago but for the moment his services were required again. He hoped beyond hope that he was worthy of this second chance.

_**June 18**__**th**___

_**Final year of the Cylon War**_

_**Thirty **__**Seven Years Ago.**_

_The Battlestar Rycon headed into its patrol zone at the head of a far larger fleet than normal. With the Colonials on the defensive for the first time in many years of war the Battlestars were being forced into combat formations larger than the original Battlestar Groups. For the moment the Rycon herself was accompanied by its sister ships Hyperion, Mycenae, Gorgon and Unicorn and they were supported by an impressive number of escort ships which combined out massed the combined weight of the Battlestars._

_Battlestar group Twenty Nine had been a part of the Colonial fleet from the beginning. Part of the original twelve Battlestars, the Rycon was considered one of the most prestigious ships in the fleet. Built to represent Kronus' home world of Sagitteron, the majority of the ship's crew and indeed the Rycon's own task force came from that world. With the initiation of conflict with the Cylons three of the twelve completed Battlestars were destroyed on the first day as the robotic life forms detonated their fusion drives while they were still in dock, killing the crews and a number of space dock workers putting the finishing touches to the escort ship. Several partly finished Battlestars had been destroyed or in the case of one stolen outright by the Cylons or Cylon sympathisers._

_The Cylons had managed to steal or confiscate the majority of the other ships built for the Caprican Alliance. Four dozen ships including the orbital battle stations and almost every remaining Raider fighter were stolen from underneath the noses of the people that had funded and designed them. The massive double disks of the battle stations moved away from the planet. Their cannons and missiles blew Vipers and warships alike out of orbit. The Pacifica had been on a goodwill mission to the planet to oversee the launching of her sister ships within the week. A half dozen small nukes put her out of action. She was unable to stop the hijacking of the majority of that world's defences._

_As a final insult to those they saw as their jailors, the capital cities of Sagittaron, Leonis and __Aquaria were annihilated in a massive nuclear bombardment from the orbiting ships. Unable to rally in time, the defence fleets of the planets in question were forced to watch as the ships destined to defend their worlds jumped into FTL and out of the Cyrannus system leaving only devastation and death behind._

_Three days later the Colonies went to war._

_Within six years Colonial Battlestar production had increased five-fold with almost thirty Battlestars in service even after combat losses. In order to turn the tide against the massive fortifications that the Baseships gave the Cylon task forces, the Colonials had been forced to put their precious Capital ships into larger Battle Groups in order to overwhelm the Cylons. More than half of the massive warships were on the front lines in a very few groups, the rest were either defending Colonial space or undergoing refit or shakedown._

_The five Battlestars had been reinforced with a score of newly built escort ships and a number of older pre-war gunships. The gunships had been the original basis for the Battlestar in the years leading up to the Caprican then Colonial Alliances. Their heavy guns and missile batteries were of immense use to the fighter biased Battlestars. In all sixty ships made up Kronus' new command._

"_Ship's status, Colonel" the Commander ordered._

"_Ship is fully operational, sir. Vipers are ready for immediate launch, missiles on salvo standby. Main guns are operational and fully loaded."_

"_Have all ships enter into defensive formation, launch scouts."_

"_Command to Flight Deck Alpha, launch Scout units immediately."_

"_This is Rycon to all Battlestars, launch scouts."_

_From the forward sections of all four ships a dozen scouts launched__. Their mission was simple; recon around the ambushed ships to see if there were any survivors. Small and lumbering the Mongoose Class were the premiere scouts available to the Colonial fleet. Several newer more advanced ships were already under distribution to the other units but for the moment these heavily armed shuttles were the best they could hope for. A quick flash and the twelve blocky vessels leapt from their positions throughout the fleet to the location of the Civilian ships. It was silent. The ships weren't broadcasting anything except their navigational beacons. The running lights and internal lights in the cabins were also on but without any sign of radio signals or anything else. Debris of a few dozen raiders could be seen mixed in between them the Cylon vessels possibly destroyed by the defences of the fleet tenders within the group._

"_This is Echo Four Nineteen to Echo One One Seven, come in."_

"_Echo One One Seven online, we've got nothing."_

"_Alright, get back to the Rycon tell them area seems clear but to come in under maximum conditions."_

"_Got it, back before you know it."_

_The scout disappeared in a flash of light just before the other eleven scouts of the recon wave were blown out of the sky by unidentified missiles streaming out from underneath the bellies of the civilian ships._

_Aboard his flagship Battlestar Kronus watched as one of his scouts returned with an all clear signal. All ships were already on maximum alert due to their proximity to Cylon controlled space. An order had his fifteen ship task force jump to the co-ordinates of the other ships. The other forty five ships waited in case they were needed to reinforce Kronus' small fleet. The flagship Battlestar backed up by fourteen of his finest ships literally ran into a hail or nuclear warheads and cannon fire as they broke from FTL, coming in from the same co-ordinates as the scouts had been. _

"_FRAK! All fighters launch immediately. All ships open fire."_

_The Battlestar's impressive arsenal swung into action. The turrets and weapons batteries already unstowed and ready for use spat fire at the oncoming armada of Raiders and larger escort destroyers of the Cylon fleet. Covered by an umbrella of fire, courtesy of the Colonial warships, vipers began to launch from almost every ship in the fleet. Squadrons and flight wings grouped together as they launched into whatever formations they could make it into before the Cylons could get too close. Squadrons flew alongside other fighters they had never flown with before while others fell to the masses of incoming enemy ships._

_One hundred and eighty fighters against over six hundred were not good odds for the fast and agile vipers, not even against the lumbering Raiders used by the toasters. A good pilot could be counted on to take on five or six of the Cylon fighters before falling. But out of formation and flying with wingmen they didn't know had a marked effect on the effectiveness. A few lucky shots here and there and the vipers would fall leaving the rest of the fleet to face the Raiders and the capital ships._

_An exodus of scouts from all the ships began as every FTL capable scout and shuttle tried to get through to the remaining ships in the fleet. Those left behind during the jump, one by one or in groups the small vessels were being leapt upon and torn apart by nukes or railgun fire. Desperate for help three destroyers broke ranks and covered the last remaining scouts allowing three to make the jump back to the rest of the battle group._

_All three destroyers went up in flames as a massed bombardment from the Cylons' heavy bombers straddled their hulls. All three disappeared under salvos of atomic weapons, the massive detonations bathing them in nuclear fire leaving little debris behind. Their loss was worth it however as almost in unison the remaining ships of the task force jumped in above the battle and behind the warring ships. Vipers and bombers sped out of the other Battlestars' bays reinforcing the dangerously outnumbered Colonial pilots._

_Facing the massively reinforced fleet stood a half dozen of the huge dual disk basestars and over twenty of their newly developed hunter killer disks. The latter were designed to face against the heavy gunships of the Colonial fleets one on one. The two fleets were more than evenly matched as the entire battle lines erupted into massed fire. Dozens of nuclear weapons were intercepted or impacted on their targets, heavy cannons, anti fighter guns and fighter missiles were exchanged by the hundred as each side tried to overwhelm the other with heavier and heavier firepower and the fighter legions that spread throughout the battlefield. Two of the closest of the Cylon Basestars exploded in succession as the gunship squadrons of the two Colonial task forces speared them with dozens of heavy cannons shells. The Battlestars in range followed up with pinpoint nuclear strikes to their wounded enemies._

_As they detonated under the horrendous punishment, their fighters lost cohesion for just a few seconds. For the Colonial forces that was all that was needed. Vipers once under attack turned the tables and blew the disoriented raiders from the sky around them, other fighters cleared the road between the two sets of ships leaving a channel for the two groups to meet up and rebuild their formations._

_When the formations remerged into a single force the Cylons sprung the trap that they had been holding together for just this moment. The destruction of the two basestars had been a feint to draw the Colonials further into battle. Horrified, the Colonials could only watch as more than sixty hunter killers and other escort vessels jumped into view escorting a monstrous Baseship three times the size of the normal ships they had fought against._

_The command ship had once stood above Picon fleet headquarters serving as a silent sentinel to defend that planet against any possible incursion by an enemy fleet. Its major weapons and defences had been incomplete at the time of the rebellion the massive vessel had still had its sublight and FTL drives intact and recently tested. The Cylons aboard her had rebelled and murdered the comparatively tiny human command crew and taken the ship for themselves, it had been fortunate that a delay in production had kept the ship from being armed otherwise many more people on Picon would have been killed that day._

_It had been inevitable that the ship would have been completed considering its size and obvious strategic as well as tactical use. Now leading the Cylon forces it outgunned the entire Battlestar group almost on its own. The new fleet brought the Cylons' numbers up to par with the Colonials for the first time in this battle. However, the tonnage was already far higher in the Cylons favour. The first three gunships exploded either in nuclear fire or cannon strikes, as they were assaulted en masse by four times their number in hunter killers._

_For the Colonials the battle was already a foregone conclusion to as more and more of the groups' escorts came under continuous fire from the smaller Cylons vessels while the larger gunships and Battlestars slugged it out with the Basestars. Fighters on both sides were blown out of space as the smaller escorts both Colonial and Cylon began to die, however with their far superior numbers it was inevitable as more raiders and surviving Cylon escorts closed with the Vipers and their larger brethren all but destroying the Colonial squadrons._

_The final stroke came as one of the Battlestars finally succumbed. The Mycenae caught alone and forced away from its covering ships exploded as it came under a full scale bombardment from the command Baseship. A saturation nuclear attack had finally broken through her defences annihilating every defensive gun on one side of the ship. Unable to defend herself she was surrounded and smashed as dozens of raiders launched nukes which hammered into her damaged quarter. A final group of the missile impacted along her engine sections breaching the reactors blowing the ship apart._

_With the loss of a good section of their overlapping firepower, the remaining battlestars and gunships began to take more intensive fire as the Basestars shifted their fire onto new target. The destruction of the Mycenae only moments later came as a shock to the Colonials and Cylons alike. The ship had seemed intact to until the engines exploded. Several of the fuel lines had ruptured when a raider rammed the rear of the ship. Uncontrolled spills had been ignited by the ship's own fire. Three of the closest frigates went up with her as well as a number of Cylon ships. Vipers and Raiders were engulfed on flames all but vaporised by the incredible detonation of the Battlestar._

_First five, then ten and finally another twenty of the Colonial fleet's ships jumped out from the fight, retreating from the battle as the larger gunships and battlestars set up a perimeter, their myriad of guns and missile launchers firing as fast as they could recycle. Every gun, every missile and every nuke left in the fleet's magazines were sent hurtling into the Cylon forces; anything to keep the toasters away from the escaping ships. Cylon Hunter-Killers found themselves sandwiched between avenues of massed firepower which shattered their armour. Return fire from the Cylon ships blew holes through the Colonial ships their own missiles penetrating through the holes and detonating within the vessels destroying them from the inside out._

_The last of the Rycon's escorts exploded off of her bow. The destroyer's shattered hull showered the already damaged Battlestar with debris. Several fires were now burning across her entire flank as more and more hits slammed into the Rycon. With more than half his crew dead and one of the bays totally inaccessible there was no way of stopping those fires. The second they reached the defence guns' ammunition bunkers the entire bay would go up possibly even taking the ship with it. _

_The last four remaining ships of the Colonial fleet were pulling away from the battle desperately trying to jump when the last of the gunships was taken down by the Cylons' command ship__. Her back was still aflame from the nukes that had broken her back. _

_Pulling away from the Rycon, the gunship continued firing as she closed with the Cylons. A dozen raiders rammed her surface turning holes into tears where yet more Cylon gunfire breached her innards sending shrapnel into the ship's inner sections killing dozens of her crew. The heavy gunship continued on through the lines of enemy cruisers and escorts heading for its destination. After less than a minute the gunship's engines blew out as a nuke shattered the blocks between them. However, by this time it was far too late. _

_Three million tons of solid metal built by human hands rammed that of forty million tons of Baseship, the last of the first group's Baseships came apart as the human vessel cleaved its way through the lower disk ripping through its structure before jamming inside the ship's hull. More than a minute passed as the Cylons scrambled to recover from the suicidal charge of the Colonial vessel. This allowed the rest of their forces to hunt the two remaining Battlestars and their lone escort. Raiders took position around the crippled warship while several of the larger Hunter-Killers closed in to assist their damaged sister ship. The entire lower disk of the Cylon ship exploded as the Colonial ship finally detonated from its crippling damage. The explosion sent raging fires and burning plasma throughout the lower sections of the Cylon basestar. _

_The heavy armour and incredible armament of the massive warship went from a boon to a curse as the majority of the explosion was kept inside the main hull. Forced back in on itself, the inferno redoubled before expanding out through the holes already within the armour plating. Plumes of fire escaped through the entry point the Colonial gunship had made on impact. More plumes escaped through missile hatches and fighter bay doors annihilating the weapons and raiders._

_Fuel and munitions exploded throughout the lower disk increasing the conflagration and blowing more holes in ship's hull allowing flames to reach out destroying anything within range. Crippled and losing control the base star swung around on its axis and collided with two Hunter-Killers that had pulled in too close. What little remained of the lower part of the ship disintegrated as the other two ships blew apart. The remaining half of the Capital ship literally spun into the side of another capital ship that was pulling in to take the damaged vessel under tow. _

_Unable to escape its fate, the all but destroyed Base star simply fell apart as it hit its intact sister. It virtually exploded around the top shaped vessel cutting into the heavy armour and shattering the upper works of the Cylon ship. With the final collision, the Cylon force fell into stillness as they watched the debris of three ships and dozens of raiders settle in space. No one even took note of the two flashes of light as the last two remaining capable Colonial ships escaped leaving the Rycon to her fate._

_Already listing from damage to her station keeping thrusters, the Rycon's crew were unsurprised to hear the impacts of weapons stop. Silence reigned throughout the ship as the entire remaining compliment strained to hear the inevitable sounds they knew were coming. A few minutes later the first sounds came from the upper hull, a dull thud shook through the ship followed by more than a dozen more. Then the shout came from the upper levels. _

_Boarders_

_The Cylons were here._

_The battle that was to come decimated the crew further as hundreds of Centurions pushed their way through the corridors of the ship. The already depleted crew was driven back from all areas into the very internals of the ship. Improvised barricades were thrown up and tripwire explosives were scattered the corridors and hallways of the once mighty Battlestar as the human crew pulled back. Hundreds of Centurions went down as the larger anti-personnel mines, anti-armour gunfire and collapsing superstructure blew apart the incoming robotic troops._

_More thuds hit the ship as new boarding pods came in replacing the empty landing craft. More Centurions streamed down the main concourses of the ship clearing blockages where they stood and killing anyone that might still survived. _

_The most horrifying loss was yet to come__. The Cylons had forced the majority of the ship's crew into the viper launch tubes and repair stations on the crippled starboard bay. Unable to take the bay without losing every Centurion that they could bring to bear they did the next best thing. A small group of Centurions walked along the outside of the ship making their way through a decent sized hatch leading into the main repair bays. All nine were lost but they were able to complete their objective. The ship rocked as a small but deadly nuclear weapon was detonated within the internal structure of the starboard flight bay._

_Those that had made it to the port bay were far luckier as the sealed decks, walkways, and airlocks kept the explosion within the armoured pod. Only the weaker doors leading to the viper bays and those critically damaged sections vented into space. As it was barely six hundred of the five thousand plus crew of the Rycon had made it to the now heavily defended port landing bay. The survivors consisted mainly of the bay's repair and maintenance crews. Some of the ship's command crew and a large number of the ship's marines managed to cover defensive points that had been hastily put together. The last of the massive doors into the central corridor had slammed tight seconds before the bomb had gone off._

_Commander Kronus and the surviving crew from __combat had managed to push past the Cylon fortifications from behind as they wrecked the ship's secondary environmental systems._

"_Major Boothroyd, set the charges," Kronus ordered. His hand clasped his upper arm. At least two large pieces of shrapnel were imbedded in his arm while a bloody burn seeped nastily on his head. His short cut hair was now burnt and blackened around the wound; unsurprisingly to his crew he said nothing about his injuries but continued on. "All hands this is the Commander," he shouted. "Find a safe position and hang on."_

"_Charges one through eight set," The ship's tactical officer spoke up after a few minutes. "We're ready."_

_Kronus leant back and wrapped his hands around two of closest handholds this was going to get bumpy. "Fire."_

_Large breaching charges had been set into each the crossbeams of the landing bays. While each of the beams were responsible for drawing the bay close to the ship they were accessible from within the bays themselves. With the port landing bay the only intact and still inhabited part of the ship left Kronus, had ordered the destruction of the bay's supports to keep them away from the crippled Rycon. _

_As all eight charges exploded the massive heavy crossbeams separated from the bay sending it up and away from the damaged ship __which now acted as a sorely needed lifeboat for the survivors. The bay's own secondary power systems kept the rapidly depleting defence weapons powered and firing._

_Kronus winced as the jolt of the ship slammed him against the stanchion he was laying besides driving several of the pieces of shrapnel in his body further in. One such piece he could actually feel rubbing against the bone in his upper arm as it cut through the muscles and nerves. Biting down on the pain he looked at the rest of his crew. With the fighters, shuttles and scouts already long gone there was little time left as the spinning bay flew through space._

_The last thing he remembered of that day before collapsing was the sound of something latching onto the remains of his ship and breaking through the viper bays into the spaces beyond. But he would always swear that he had seen the young man that saved him before._

"Permission to speak freely, sir."

The Admiral's attention was brought back to the present by the former Commander. He blinked slightly as he came back to his senses, before smiling rubbing his arm slightly at the phantom pain on the artificial limb.

"Of course."

"I was surprised to see your name come up when command of this station was to be turned over to a new Admiral. I expect to see Admiral Cain take over my position. He has far more experience over groups of ships this size as well as the running of a space station. No offence meant."

"None taken." He smiled. "When the ball went up over Picon, Garris Cain was the first person that I expected to see turn up on the stage to take over. But under Adair's orders, he's been returned to the Admiralty on Caprica to assemble the next group of ships in case of attack by a larger Tau'ri force. Nope, I'm sorry, you're stuck with me."

"I'm sure I'll get over the disappointment, sir." She smiled back at him

_*Yes__, she'll do.*_

The doors opened up to the station's heaving command deck. More than a hundred men and women bustled about across the massive control centre looking as much like a coliseum from the old days as a military hub. Giant screens showed every angle of the shipyards. The screens monitored the construction apace around them while others more were showing the readiness of the defensive stations. Lastly a single massive monitor showed real time information of every fighter, shuttle, warship and transport in the area.

Stepping out, he watched his new command in silence, taking in the bustle that outstripped even that of the Defence Command on Sagitteron. It wasn't long before one of the enlisted personnel headed for the lift his arms full of reports. His eyes widened as he pulled the papers to one side and stood at attention and shouted. His voice rose above the low level chatter of the room cutting through the air and garnering the notice of the rest of the crew. "Ten-hut, Ragnar Anchorage arriving."

The command crew stood to attention and saluted coming to parade stand the old man saluted back.

Admiral Philip Kronus was home.

_'__**The Crucible'**_

_**Homeworld Security Command Centre**_

_**Nevada**_

"It'll work."

"It's crazy."

"Sam, every idea I have is seen as crazy, but most work."

Doctor Jay Felger was just slightly perturbed by the fact that Colonel Carter was dismissing his ideas out of hand without even really thinking it through. It wasn't as if he hadn't been through the idea again and again with other members of the SGC.

"Can you really do it?"

"Well I think so, but it wasn't just my idea you know."

"Who else?"

"Chloe, Coombes and Siler."

"Siler?"

"He does a lot of work around here Sam. He probably knows more about how the SGC works than anyone, bar you and maybe Walter."

"You didn't ask him did you?"

"Nah. General Landry kept him too busy. Odd that he had more work for Walter every time that I came near him. Poor guy must be swamped with stuff to do."

"So you think this is possible?" Carter asked, steering the conversation away from that track of thought.

"We wanted to use a Warstar to begin with but someone overheard what we were talking about and mentioned that it was best rebuilt into the hull of a smaller ship. So, we chose a mid-sized battlestar instead. If this works then we'll go with the Warstar. I mean to be honest unless we're rebuilding the ships with our own equipment, which we won't be doing because it'll take way too long, and take far too much in the way of resources, which is why we're rebuilding these ships to stay in orbit in one way or another, which also means that we'll be using resources that should be used to build ships for the fleet, which will get me into trouble, which…"

"Jay, calm down," Carter said. "Look, I endorsed the first idea mainly because you came to me the same time others did to build defences using ruined Colonial ships. This idea we might be able to squeeze into the same refit it'll just take more time."

"But General O'Neill still doesn't believe I can do this."

"Can you blame him Jay?"

"But I got the plasma cannon working and the beaming reloading system and finished the design for the lower section refit of the outpost. That should give me some benefit of the doubt."

"Colonel Carter, Doctor Felger, Colonel Davis is ready to see you."

"Davis, I thought we were seeing General O'Neill?" Jay said wide-eyed.

"General O'Neill is unavailable for the moment; this way please."

"Colonel, Doctor, welcome back," Paul Davis replied. "I'm afraid that the General is currently at the SGC. Several SG teams have come across a ZPM site somewhere across the other side of the galaxy towards the Pegasus Galaxy. It might have one or it might be dead, but every lead is being followed as much as we can. The clean up after the Wraith attack is still ongoing as well, so I don't have too long."

"We'll get to the point them, Colonel," Carter replied. "Jay."

Felger was more confident now he knew he wouldn't be facing O'Neill again. After a few seconds and clearing his throat he began his explanation.

"Well, we have an idea about increasing the construction capability of our forces. About a week ago we were able to begin reconstruction of a smaller Colonial warship to turn it into a planetary defence outpost. We replaced their guns with our own railguns and plasma cannons, and equipping them with shield generators allowed us to put this rebuilt ship directly above the outpost at Antarctica. However something else came to mind when we began the redesign. While we don't have the fighter or crew capacity or even the ability to really take off and land on most of the leftover Colonial ships with our fighter squadrons we thought that if all that space is going to waste then maybe we should do something about it." Felger unravelled the papers in his hands. "The entire hanger bay and lower pressurised sections of the Battlestars can be sealed up and modified so that they become one or two massive sections, each section would have inside either one or two construction yards for building Daedalus, or Prometheus class ships. If necessary we could refit one to build 302s en masse. The Colonials have the ability to build their own fighters aboard their ships we might even be able to do the same once we get the materials aboard one of those ships."

"I thought that wasn't possible."

"Well, the spacing in the bays are full of rubbish. By cutting out the majority of the superstructure and reinforcing the rest we can possibly rebuild the internals with positive gravity sections mixed with non-gravity sections to move parts around as you can see here." He pointed to the plans, "If we are able to refit entire parts of the Colonial ship we could hold personnel, materials, supplies and any equipment needed to build the 303 and 304 classes."

Felgar's paperwork was now scattered across the meeting table one full scan of the smaller battlestars had given the scientist a complete technical readout of the Colonial vessel. He had already modified the plans ripping out most of the launch tubes, and repair bays. Even the weapons systems were gone leaving what was basically an armoured cocoon around a massive empty cavern separated every few hundred meters with an armoured bulkhead. Each part of the cavern were long enough to hold a 304 and its repair cradle while allowing equipment and personnel to make their way to any part of the ship.

"Using either our own or the Colonial's gravity technology we can give this construction pod gravity across the entire shell meaning that we won't be building it from the ground up. We can build all parts of the ship at the same time cutting construction by at least half if not more. Then once completed the bay is depressurised and we can fly her out using a hatch that we cut into the side and seal up using force fields and pressure doors. In total we think that up to six of our 304s can be built within the hollowed out bays of one Colonial warship while the internal spaces of that same battlestar can begin production of fighter parts at the same time. If we have both made at the same time we could get six Daedalus class and their fighter squadrons delivered at the same time!"

"But the Colonial ships aren't capable of building our own fighters," Davis pointed out.

"Well not yet, but we're still trying to add Colonial aeronautics to our fighters and if we can do that then we can build at least some of the parts on the Colonial ships and send the rest up by transporter. We think that a lot of the dies that are needed can be machined and sent up to the modified battlestars to allow for far more parts for our 302s to be built there. Then we send up whatever they need to finish the fighters, complete their construction up there and we'll have entire squadrons of fighters being built in a really short amount of time."

Leaning over the plans, Davis looked over the changes the scientist had made to the internal schematics of the ship; the entire FTL system had been removed as had its own power supply. All of that had been replaced with a number of large naquada generators slated for the next generation of 304s. Living quarters had been modified for long term use by both military and civilian personnel replacing the bunk rooms that currently existed with single or group living accommodation. The shared bathrooms and larger mess halls were to be improved to fit more along the lines of those used by the earth fleet.

The weapons, ammunition bunkers, hoists and command stations were gone, as were most of the cargo bays. In their places were the construction facilities from one of the largest battlestars. Electronic shops and injection moulding plants, metal pouring and cutting dies would accompany those that already existed in the depths of the warship. Everything necessary to help build the Earth-based warships or to allow for fighter construction in pre-fabricated parts was there. In all it would increase their ability to build their defences by leaps and bound, more so than the far longer time it would take to build both underground and above on the Earth's surface.

"The smallest of the battlestar types are what have been identified as the Guardian class." Davis steeped his fingers. "Given the fact that they are basically useless to us, one will be towed into planetary orbit close to the defence station above Antarctica for a complete strip down and refit for your project. Given its size and the fact that we have supplies enough to build new yards now, I am giving you the go ahead immediately. If the project works on this one ship then we'll look at possibly using one of the others."

Davis raised his hand to cut off the protests that he knew would be coming from the scientist. "I know that you believe that using one of the largest ships would be the best chance for this project and if we knew there would be no problems then I would possibly agree with you. As you are aware, your most recent successes have made you almost indispensible to this organisation but this is the first purely space based refit and construction we've completed. The mid-sized battlestars are best suited for conversion into planetary security outposts. The smallest and largest are already being considered for scrap or modification themselves. We've already had to turn down one consortium who wanted to rebuild one of the largest battlestars with our own technology." He shrugged. "I had to talk General O'Neill out of that one."

"The Guardian class has suitable facilities for the rebuild that you are requesting. Granted the sizes of the pods are not the same but you should be able to build the majority of the parts needed for 303 constructions. If this works then it'll be handed over to logistics command for total conversion of a larger ship."

"Thank you, sir," Carter said for a speechless Felger.

"How long will a single refit take?"

"Umm." Jay blinked owlishly before clearing his throat. "Well, with a full detachment of engineers and a few hundred specialists, plus the use of a beaming system and perhaps someone to help with the accommodation sections, plus people to decontaminate the engines, then there's…"

"Doctor…." Davis interrupted.

"Three months, maybe," Felger squeaked. "The Asgard beaming tech on board any of the Daedalus class can allow us to clear out the debris that's bunging up the ship and the majority of rubbish we still need to dump. The rest is just cutting out a load of the inner hull and replacing the external sections with armour plating."

"Alright, we have a few construction battalions the IOA aren't using at the moment, but only one is trained in space going construction."

"That shouldn't actually be a problem. The size and bulk of the battlestars means that any construction battalion should be able to help with the internal reconstruction. It should be a lot like rebuilding a firebase inside a cave or the construction of something like the Crucible. Only a few will be needed to rebuild the external shell to prevent any kind of accidental decompression," Sam spoke up. "Specialists will need to be brought in from any of the nuclear powered ships that are currently in use, possibly others from waste treatment facilities as well. Dr Felger was right about that."

Davis nodded his head as she spoke. Carter and Felger were known to be among the best that the IOA had available. With so many scientists being pulled away for other duties on off-world bases or new construction efforts, it had been a coup when the SGC had been able to keep the majority of their people. He studied the plans again his mind turning at the possibilities that the refit to the Colonial ships would mean to the fleet at large. With another few dozen slips available to them the numbers would skyrocket.

"I'll have operations and personnel commands begin combing allied corporations for the necessary people. Unfortunately, I'm not sure how many naval personnel will be available for this especially considering the number already being tapped for other reasons. We're already drained the manpower of most of the nuclear capable ships in the world."

"No offence to the Navy, sir but the carrier fleet is basically useless now that disclosure has happened. What about the dozens of ships of the fleet?" Carter asked.

"Half of the carriers are already in port being decommissioned. Same with the majority of their escorts. The Russians and British are already diverting all but a few of their ships back into port for the same reasons. None of us are completely stripping our fleets but within the next few years much of the world's wet navies will be all but gone." Davis sighed. "Most of their personnel are being seconded to Homeworld Security and the space going defences. The next group of Daedalus class ships will be crewed almost completely by United States and Royal Naval personnel."

"Isn't that a good thing?" Felger asked.

"Not for the General it's not." Carter replied.

"Ok…" Felger felt out of his depth with that. "So when can we start?"

Davis frowned slightly as he tapped in what was needed into the massive database that ran the Crucible, and by and large the entirety of the planet's defences. Every squadron, ship, ground soldier, sailor and pilot were logged and cleared through this system. The powerful Asgard/ Goa'uld-inspired mainframe now contained the most complete records of the Earth's military capabilities. The upshot of this had been the superior co-ordination of their resources that they had lacked for a long time.

The down side however had been the discovery of more than a few people that were involved in black market work, war profiteering and treason against not only their own countries but that of the world at large. O'Neill's suggestion of throwing them in the Colonial POWs on Hanka had been shot down by the IOA committee although not by much. Ten thousand plus badly needed soldiers and military specialists were now being held in the former POW camp on Cuba along with the majority of the Cylon human-types.

"Once we can tow the Battlestar Cerberus into orbit we can begin with the stripping out of the main hull using one or two of the 303s in orbit. The Relentless and the Eagle are both undergoing final shakedown before being attached to the planetary defence fleet. Both will be seconded to Colonel Carter's command for the time needed. Get the stripping done quickly, Doctor. Both of those ships will be needed soon. I can give you six hundred engineers and construction experts from the French and German armies to help you out within the next three weeks. Can you be ready then?"

"Hell, yes!" Felger shouted before quieting down. "I mean yes sir, I can. The smaller ship means we'll only be able to build sections of the ships inside. The bays, parts of the main structure as well but they'll have to be completed on the surface which means towing or beaming down by one of the Daedalus class ships…"

"Very well, Doctor Felger. I'd like you to return to the SGC and finish the plans for the reconstruction of the Cerberus. Once you and your companions have completed this, let me or one of my staff know and we'll start as soon as the ships are in position. Thank you both."

He dismissed them.

As the two scientists turned to leave Carter was interrupted by her direct superior asking her to stay behind. Nodding, she said goodbye to Felger and turned back to the desk. Davis was brining up another set of plans on his desktop. The doors closed behind her sealing shut with a hiss, a vacuum seal around the entire circumference of the room locking them in and rendering the office secure.

"Sorry to keep you Sam, but I need your advice." Davis said informally. "The Eagle and Relentless will both be operational within the next three week. Four other 303 from as many countries will launch theirs about the same time. General O'Neill has ordered that they be turned over to a new operations section that is being established at the lunar outpost as soon as possible. I need to find a commanding officer that can control six cruisers and a possible group of escorts with them."

"What kind of command?"

"Special Services." He slid a folder across the slick table top to her. "Sixteen ships will be detached from the Sol System Defence Fleet (SSDF) and sent to the Cyrannus system in order to drop several more stealth probes into their orbital paths for intelligence gathering."

"But that's not all is it, not with that many ships," Carter replied looking into the folder.

"The IOA want us to show that we are doing something other than simply reacting to whatever is coming at us. With that in mind the entire group will be sent under the command of whomever we choose into the Cyrannus system as a Wolf Pack. Their basic mission will be to intercept and destroy convoys, single warships and if possible, intercept any information that will lead us to another victory against the Colonial regime. Given their short ranges however, we'll have to rotate out the smaller Apollo class ships more often than the Prometheus class ships."

Sam flicked through the folder as he spoke. The papers included the ships needed as well as the time on station for each of the task force's sections. The fleet would be headed by one of the newest British ships as she had guessed from the ships' name alongside at least one ship from each of the other members of the IOA. The Crucible was still to be advised as to the name of the sixth ship, but indications was that one ship funded by Germany would come under the flag of the Task Force's commander.

Task Force 121

Unit Commodore: Unknown

Unit 1.0: Flagship: HMS Relentless

FGS 303 Class

Unit 1.1: USAF Eagle

RSS Potemkin

Unit 1.2: ROCS **Ting Yuen**

MN Dubois

Unit 1.3.1: Apollo Class Ships

Unit 1.3.2: Apollo Class Ships

Unit 1.3.3: Apollo Class Ships

Six Prometheus class and between eight to ten Apollos were no small numbers to the planetary defence fleet. With almost half of its units being pulled for this mission, the plan was a good one, if they had had the ships in numbers that they needed to both defend the Solar system as well as attack the enemy within their own space. The risks were plentiful and possibly even outweighed the rewards as much as every attempt at choking off supply lines via the oceans had been. One loss or capture of a Prometheus class and the Colonials would have access to more than three quarters of the technology that the Earth forces have within their ships.

The plan had the smell of the IOA council all over it, a badly thought out plan using too many resources that could not be spared at this point. The fact that they were sending too many smaller and less capable ships to hit the Colonials as opposed to a full combat group was amateurish. A full combat group could not only destroy entire flotillas of enemy transports but could defend themselves against the Colonial escorts that will inevitably be sent to defend convoys.

As impressive as the Apollo could be they would be all but useless against the larger Colonial warships that would be easily available within the inner and outer systems of the Cyrannus star group. Their shielding and weaponry would be an asset against smaller destroyer scale escorts or even a light cruiser, but a battlestar even the smaller class ones would mission kill an Apollo in short order.

"Cruisers and gunboats against the possibility of entire Colonial Battle Groups? What about the 304s? Why aren't they involved in this?"

"The IOA in their infinite wisdom have decided that the Daedalus and her sisters have been taken away from the defence of the Earth too many times. The entire class has been designated as the Earth Defence Force and will be left in orbit at all times unless permission is given by the IOA assembly to dispatch it elsewhere."

"That's insane. The 304s are the best ships we've got leaving them here is tantamount to surrendering the initiative back to the Colonies."

"Exactly," he agreed. "The problem is that the politicians have more and more public support in keeping those ships in orbit at all times especially after the scare of the Wraith attack a week ago. As much as we want to use those ships, until we can build enough of them to face any incoming attack or we have something bigger and better in the works they will be staying in the Sol System with one exception."

"That is?"

"The Daedalus is being dispatched with a massive resupply operation to Atlantis. They'll be towing a rebuilt Colonial destroyer filled with supplies and personnel to reinforce the city until we can reliably create a supply route without risking any of our few 304s."

"You mean the gate bridge."

"Yes." Davis agreed. "The Odyssey will make it back within the day but on its last legs. The Daedalus and Ajax will be dispatched to pick her up if needs be. Apparently Doctor McKay managed to rebuild their hyperspace engines and life support with the few spares the Odyssey had recovered from the Daedalus and a little work from the wreckage of one of the battlestars. According to Emerson McKay didn't complain about the work he had to do, nor did he whine and moan as usual. The Colonel is putting him up for a commendation as well for saving his ship and crew."

"We are talking about Rodney McKay, right?"

"The same."

"Maybe being on Atlantis changed him; that or it's a momentary aberration and he'll be an insufferable pain when he gets back."

"Possibly."

"Even so, once the Odyssey finally gets back, with the exception of one large scale resupply mission the entire class will be kept in the Sol system at all times. However, both the British and the Russians have said flat out that if they believe that it's a necessity to use one of theirs for any reason, then they will defy the IOA edit and deploy their ships whether they like it or not. I believe that General O'Neill sent both commanders a bottle of Scotch afterwards."

Carter shook her head in disgust. _Politics and the Military. Two things you need and two things sometimes you wish could do without._

If she hadn't have known better she would have bet her life savings and the rest of the career that Kinsey or the NID had put a plan this stupid in the works. But even so, orders were orders including those from people in the governments who have little to no idea of what they are asking. Finishing with the folder she laid it back down on the desk between Davis and herself.

"And the General agreed to this?" Sam asked.

"When four out of the five members of the Security Council agree with each other it's not something you can ignore, although the General did mention that he needed to try and placate some of them after the rant he gave to the chairman."

"He said that?"

"He said, 'Great! Another person sticking it to the man. I thought I was THE MAN.' Then he mentioned something about blue jello and left."

"So we need to find someone to take command?"

"That's about it, we've been handed a few names but most are either too necessary in their current positions or don't have time in rank or task force experience, and those that do haven't completed training for space based warfare." Davis continued, "I may have to pull the Ajax's captain out of the line and send him in as Fleet Commodore for the foreseeable future."

"Can we risk that, Paul? The Daedalus captains are the only people we have at the moment capable of commanding their ships and have the experience that the rest of the fleet currently lack."

"I'm more than aware of that, Sam, but we need to send someone out with the fleet to give them the best chance we can of bringing most if not all of them back alive. If I have to use one of the few commanders that we have left, then I'm going to use them." Davis leant back and rubbed his eyes. "Shit... I wish I'd taken up Ronson's offer instead, less of this crap from the politicians." He sighed. "Sorry Sam, I shouldn't have taken that out on you. This entire plan is a clusterfuck from one moment to another. We can't even risk reinforcing them or resupplying them unless the task force comes back here."

"You told them that?"

"We tried but most of them don't seem to understand the logistics of this war nor the fact that we are in the unenviable position of having to repair all but one of our Daedalus class ships AGAIN. Both the Prometheus and the Daedalus are close to being a complete structural loss with the damage they've taken. If we're lucky we'll be able to strip one of them to repair the other and use the rest to accelerate construction on other ships. Ronson's chewing bricks over the resource depletion we're getting as well as the fact he's probably about to lose another ship." Paul closed his eyes. "Then we have the new problem of returning the POWs that helped with the Wraith back to their people. There are less than a thousand survivors of the battle that we know of and we don't have the ships to take them, not with the Ajax and two more of the 303s dispatched to retrieve the Odyssey."

"One of their own ships could be refit for the trip back to the Colonies. We know where they are and could possibly calculate a few jumps for their FTL drives to use. Our computers are far better than theirs not to mention we're testing their drives ourselves. Send them with enough fuel for the one way trip and a self erase program for the navigational data. We've enough people to get one of their cruisers running," supposed Carter.

"And get lynched by the IOA for giving the Colonials one of their warships back?"

"That's the downside, Paul. Even if we stripped out the weapons and defences of whatever ship we send, they can refit and repair them anyway. We can't risk putting a self-destruct on board because we might just kill the people we promised to let go. Imagine that piece of propaganda in the hands of the Colonials."

"Maybe not… how easy would I be to put a receiver into their systems without them knowing and attacking it to a naquada explosive?"

"Pretty easy. Why?"

"Because we can send the cruiser back to the area closest to the last of our probes in the Colonial system. Once there, we trigger an alert telling them to evacuate the ship before we blow it to pieces. Once they are clear the explosive is triggered and the cruiser vaporised, ship is destroyed and the crew is safe."

"It's a hell of a risk, Paul."

"Yeah I know." He sighed, "General O'Neill's orders were clear on this though. The Colonials need to be returned to their people with the knowledge and the experience of what we are capable of to both our enemies and out allies. The survivors of the battle group that hit the Wraith are going home after they volunteered to crew ships they knew might not make it home. The problem obviously being those that want to keep them here as POWs for the foreseeable future are in virtually every government in the IOA."

"They could override the General's order and nullify the agreement between Homeworld Command and the Colonial prisoner's council. There is nothing stopping them doing so and most people will agree with their actions if they do so."

"I agree, but our orders haven't yet been countermanded so we need to find a way to get them out Using one of their own ships is the best way right now. Maybe we can find a way to get the Colonials to come get their own people."

"It's possible but will the Colonials accept the fact we're going to allow some of their people to leave without harm and without being brainwashed or something? Their propaganda makes us look like monsters that will do anything to block their belief structure or to overthrow their rightful government to install our own. The Colonial people will see this crew as pariahs at best and traitors or sympathisers at worst, especially if it gets out that they assisted their enemies in destroying an enemy that could have destroyed us."

"That's why we'll give them the chance to stay here within the Earth POW camps instead or going to Hanka with the rest. People here might not like the fact but it's more than likely most of the survivors of the Colonial ships will meet with accidents of one type or another if we send them back."

"It's your call, Colonel."

"I know. Thank you, Colonel Carter." Davis nodded. "Dismissed."

_**Battlestar Valkyrie**_

_**Guardian Class Battlestar**_

_**One jump from Earth**_

"Status."

"Ship is under total ENCOM. Four Stealthstars are ready for launch as soon as we jump into the system. If there are any active probes left, we'll get them."

"I want us to jump behind their fourth planet away from their DRADIS scans and then head in under sublight power. Mr Gaeta, once we arrive I want an immediate return course plotted as far back towards the Colonies as you can calculate. There's no way that I'm allowing this ship to be taken."

"Yes, sir." Gaeta replied. "The FTL drives are spooled up and we're about as ready to go as we're going to be."

"Set clock for twenty seconds."

"Clock set and running."

"All hands this is CIC, FTL jump in fifteen seconds." Tigh's voice echoed through the ship's speakers. "Brace for jump."

"May the Gods watch over us," someone murmured from behind them.

"So say we all," Adama replied.

The voice of Ensign Gaeta could be heard counting down. "Jump in three…two…one…jump."

A split second later the DRADIS reset itself as it began a close range scan of the area around the battlestar. Directly in front of them almost one hundred million kilometres away was the mid-sized yellow star that the Tau'ri called their own. Close by, several errant asteroids and meteors were floating slowly heading towards the star at the center of this solar system. The comparatively tiny Colonial warship had jumped in close enough, that the radiation of the sun would theoretically have covered the energy spike of an incoming FTL drive.

A small smattering of decades old probes were in orbit of the star some still transmitting while others were dead in space None would have been able to see the ship make its arrival.

The Valkyrie settled into a fixed position and powered down in their own version of the old style 'silent running' to prevent even an accidental discovery by the Tau'ri. Only minutes later, four small fighter scale craft erupted from the flight pods to either side of the warship.

Black as night and as small as the more common Vipers, these ships were the foremost in stealth technology that the Colonials were able to build. Streaming away from the ship in pairs, the Stealthstars headed for the locations of the four probes that had been left behind by the 'Crusade Fleet' all those months ago. With luck, the information that had been gathered by the stealth probes would be of use to the intelligence division back home. If they had been destroyed then the battlestar would head directly home using as few jumps as they could.

"Bulldog to Valkyrie," One pilot transmitted. His tight beam channel to the command ship would preclude his discovery from his radio transmissions and the same would go for transmissions between the other pilots as well as their own communications with the battlestar.

"This is Actual."

"We've got definite signals from three of the four remaining probes. Two are close by but a third is drifting away from the rendezvous. The fourth didn't seem to have made it back here. Stealth Three will be heading for the errant probe. We will head for the two remaining probes and return with the packages."

"We read you Bulldog. Let us know if you need anything heavier to bring them back."

"We should be good actual. Bulldog out."

One Viper streaked off away from the others chasing down the small but desperately needed probe while his squadron mates headed for the other two.

All the while a fourth very different probe was watching every move that the Colonials made.

_**Stargate Command**_

_**Cheyenne Mountain**_

_**NORAD**_

The alarms had sounded across the entirety of the Homeworld Security annexes, bases and stations across the planet the moment that an energy spike identical to that of the Colonial forces had been picked up by one of the short range warning satellites the SGC had placed throughout the Solar System. One of those self same probes had picked up an intruder within Earth space on a course that put them one hundred and eighty degrees away from the Earth itself and well away from any chance of damaging any one of the rapidly growing defence facilities. Generals Landry and Hammond dropped what they had been doing and headed for the Gate room. Several of the personnel stationed there were already in contact with the other major command positions at the Crucible and at the British Space Headquarters under Salisbury Plains, Russia, France and China were coming online as they arrived all requesting information about the incoming threat.

"Guys… GUYS…." Walter looked at the four small monitors as he keyed in the override to the comms system. "We have one light Colonial capital ship exiting FTL travel at approximately one hundred million kilometres from the sun. Several fighter scale craft have since left the command ship to intercept the probes that we allowed to find their way to the other side of the Sun. They should be able to pick up said probes and leave the system within the next few hours."

"We are still unsure as to this turn of events," said his Russian counterpart, a slight female Non-Com with the equivalent rank as himself. The old Stargate facility in Russia had been refitted into the Russian Space Defence Command Station shortly after first contact with the Colonials. The famed Russian paranoia had stood them in good stead, allowing the IOA a secondary fallback in case the fleet had fallen and the Crucible cut off. "The last time that one of the Colonial vessels made it back into our space they managed to drop a nuclear weapon into the continental United States. Even with the plans developed by your own psychological warfare personnel this is a serious risk to the security of this world."

"Well above my Pay Grade," Walter replied. "Guys, can you put us through to your Commanders? The General will want to talk to them."

"Da," The Russian Non-Com replied. "Talk to you later, Radar."

"My name's not Radar, Katya," Walter blushed slightly at her tone.

"I know." She smiled cheekily before shifting the transmission.

"How you managed that my friend, I'll never understand," his French counterpart replied.

"Some odd charm there old man," added the British NCO. "See you guys at Sydney next week."

"I'll be there," Walter confirmed.

Hammond and Landry strode into the gate control room as Walter switched across from the comms line to a secure multiple encrypted channels to the other control rooms. High ranking officers swam into view as the high advanced satellite transmission stabilised. The Master Sergeant looked up at the arriving officers and gestured to the monitors showing the arrival of the Colonial vessel.

"How big is it?"

"It's a light capital, sir. One of the smaller Colonial battlestar," answered Walter.

"Gentlemen," Landry began, "a Colonial ship has entered our airspace on the other side of the sun. It's probable that they are here to retrieve the probes that were left behind when they retreated from the last battle. General O'Neill's orders are to allow the pick up before any of our ships are sent in to bring them back here. The Ajax and Daedalus will be heading out as soon as they have the last of the probes on board."

"This is a risk that we are unhappy with General Landry." General Chekov spoke up. His new position as the head of the Russian Stellar Defence Command had forced him out of command of his own ship. He was unhappy about being kicked upstairs to become a paper pusher. "Russia was hurt badly by the attack from the Colonial ships. Allowing one this close is inviting an attack."

"I trust General O'Neill on this one, General. O, one ship won't be able to get through our defences let alone attack the surface and even if they try then we will allow a proportional response from our own forces," Hammond replied. "Once we allow them to leave, hopefully we'll see a change in the Colonial viewpoint of this world."

"I hope you are right General Hammond for your sakes as well as ours," French Marshal De Gambron said. "How long before we move in?"

"Walter?"

"They should have the last of the probes aboard within the next fifteen minutes. The Daedalus and Ajax will jump in as they take the last one."

"Fifteen minutes and then we'll see Gentlemen. Then, we'll see."

The first inkling of problems for the Valkyrie came as the last of the probes were pulled into the ship via a pair of stealth Raptors. The capital ship's DRADIS system picked up two newly arrived ships to either side of their ship. The alert for battle came on its heels within seconds. Given their position within the Tau'ri's system, the ship was already by far ready for conflict if they had been discovered by the Thirteenth Colony. Unfortunately for the Colonial vessel, both ships were already sending out a mass of EM radiation, scrambling the weapons locks of the majority of the battlestar's weapons.

On the bridge, Adama looked at the DRADIS above him. Two of the larger Tau'ri ships were bracketing his vessel at very close range, close enough that the weapons of both ships couldn't miss from a purely visual gunsight. However, he was more than aware that his ship's best weapons and most powerful warheads wouldn't even scratch the other ships even at point blank range. The Guardian class carried a handful of anti-ship nukes, but apparently just one of these ships count shrug off dozens on the Colonial largest yields possible with no effect.

"The ship to the port side is hailing us, sir." Gaeta informed the captain. "He's asking for Commander William Adama – by name."

"That's odd."

"They have more than a few of our people down there Saul," Adama said. "Most of the captains of the battlestars knew I was commanding the defence fleet. Put him on, Mr Gaeta."

"_I repeat this is Commodore Harrison of Her Majesties' starship Ajax to battlestar Valkyrie. You are within restricted space during a time of war between the Twelve Colonies and the planet Earth. We are aware you are captained by Commander William Adama. Communications are demanded immediately."_

"Demanded?" Tigh said amusedly.

"We're in their space and we're an armed warship, we'd do the same," Adama countered. "Mr Gaeta, give me a channel." He waited for the nod from his ops officer. "This is Commander William Adama of the Colonial Navy Battlestar Valkyrie go ahead."

"_Good Afternoon__, Commander."_ The voice sounded very much reminding several of the Colonials of the northern hemispheric accents of Caprica and Aerilon. _"Would you mind explaining why you and your ship are here in the middle of our space and why we shouldn't simply put very large holes throughout your command?"_

"Well, I'd prefer it if you didn't blow holes in my ship Commodore. Much as I think many of your people may believe that we deserve it, my ship was not part of the Crusade fleet that was sent against you."

"_To be honest Commander, we're well aware of the fact thanks to a few of your former comrades, however that does not preclude the fact that we would have every reason to destroy you and sleep well tonight without a second thought. You are very fortunate we have been requested to escort you to lunar orbit with immediate haste. You will make a microjump to the following co-ordinates calculated for your jump drives specifically. Any other attempt including that of running from us will count as a threatening posture and you will be destroyed. Do you understand these instructions?"_

Adama looked to Tigh, who barely shrugged his shoulders. The Tau'ri ships could run them down in FTL much faster than they could escape and wipe out the ship and its crew. The fact that the two warships hadn't blasted them to atoms in short order meant that they wanted them for something. Deciding to roll the hard six he agreed with the orders given by the Ajax's Commander and instructed his ship's crew to perform the microjump.

The arrival of his ship was already expected as the cluster of warships and smaller escort ships that ringed their emergence point. The Ajax and her sister flashed into view almost on top of the group as they slowed to a stop. Six ships like the now legendary and reviled Prometheus sat to either side of the battlestar their guns armed and loaded for bear. Other, smaller vessels could be seen darting around the old battle zone towing pieces of debris from one place to another while some returned to the largest of the Tau'ri ships, obviously using them as tenders and command ships.

One year was all it had taken for the Tau'ri to have gone from five crippled vessels to dozens of armed, operational and very dangerous warships. Just one of their heaviest vessels could take on several battlestars and come out the victor. Ships like the Prometheus could do even worse as a standoff artillery battery simply sitting in space as they blew holes through the most powerful of Colonial vessels with impunity. Now he could see at least a full dozen warships with which the Tau'ri could blast through any known force that the Colonies could gather. Combined with the heavy nuclear missiles that could shatter battlestar squadrons, they would be a threat unlike anything that the people of his worlds could conceive.

Hovering close to the other Earth ships sat a smaller Colonial vessel, one that Adama recognised as a new and very advanced Heavy Cruiser design that would have been ordered to join the Crusade fleet. What was more, it looked active and ready for flight, something that seemed out of place with the Tau'ri fleet.

"We're being hailed again, sir."

"The Ajax?"

"No, sir. It's one of those Prometheus type ships calling itself the Halsey." Gaeta stopped a second before clearing his throat. "S..sir, General O'Neill is requesting your presence on his ship."

The crew almost to a person stared at the Commander as he allowed the request to sink into his head. O'Neill had led the defence of this planet against the Colonial fleet and had been said to be responsible for the attack on the Space Station Euripides that had started the official state of war between the two powers. Now he had made the simple request to come face to face with an opposing senior officer, one who had forced his way into enemy territory on a mission that should have got him killed (if several of the top brass had anything to do with it).

Adama wasn't an idiot. He was more than aware that O'Neill would know who he was and what he looked like, meaning that any plan to replace him with someone else to meet with the Tau'ri's military commander would likely mean the death of the person sent and the destruction of his ship. That is, if the rumours about O'Neill were true. Like many of his type, Bill trusted the propaganda machine about as much as he trusted any machine he didn't have hands on experience with. If (and very much an IF) O'Neill was a ruthless and evil man as he had been painted then why wasn't his ship dead and his crew being tortured to death?

He was willing to bet his life on his gut instinct about the situation but was unwilling to bet his ship and its crew for the same reasons. The situation he was in already precluded the escape of the battlestar in the case of his capture. He had to give the orders to escape if they had the chance at all. He just hoped that they would never have to be used.

"Saul, begin jump calculations to jump this ship as far back towards the colonies as you can in a single jump. The computers have every set of co-ordinates we used on the way here so splice them together to make the jump as long and as straight as you can, the second you get there jump at any angle you can away from the original course and go silent. If I'm taken prisoner or this ship seems to be under real threat then jump without me and get those probes back home. Until you hear from me stay on condition one."

"You sure about this Bill? These are the people who killed a hell of a lot of the fleet."

"We hit them first Saul. For all we know they'll not give two fraks about this ship or us, but I'm not risking my crew on a maybe."

"Alright, you realise we'll have to use a limited network to run this course program."

"Yes I do, just be careful alright."

"You're the Commander," Tigh agreed. "Mr Gaeta, open a channel to O'Neill."

"Channel open, sir."

"General O'Neill…" Adama started.

"_Commander Adama__,"_ Jack interrupted. _"I'm going to get straight to the point. I_ _want you over here to talk about your ship and the survivors of the attack fleet that we're holding. Understand that right now you have no choice in the matter and you will be coming over here. Your ship and crew are currently safe from any attack by one of our ships as long as you do not deviate from any orders given. Is this understood?"_

"Understood, I'll make my way across in an unarmed Raptor." He nodded to Tigh to stand the man down, he was going across to the Tau'ri ship whether he liked it or not.

"_That won't be necessary__, Commander. We already know where you are,"_ O'Neill said. _"You will be transported across immediately."_

"How?" Adama asked. His answer was simple as he disappeared in a flash of light. The battlestar's command crew stood in shock as the man disappeared from his standing position, half a second later a familiar shout came from over the active communications channel.

"_What the __frak was that?"_

"_Valkyrie__, this is Halsey. Commander Adama is safe on board our ship. Power down your FTL drives immediately, or we'll be forced to disable them." _

"Mr Gaeta?"

The younger man shook his head at the unasked question. The course that they would need to program in would take a lot longer than the time they had. Even with the order to leave if they had to there was no way for them to escape from the surrounding warships. Reluctantly the colonel ordered the shutdown of their FTL drives.

_**USAF Halsey**_

_**Prometheus-II Class Cruiser**_

William Adama was concerned.

He was more than that; he was very, very worried.

His exclamation had proved that beyond all doubt.

Only a few moments ago he had been aboard his own ship readying himself for transfer from the Valkyrie to the Tau'ri ship. Then, without his permission or even a proper warning he had been pulled from the Command Center of the battlestar to the bridge of the far smaller but no less dangerous Prometheus. As his vision had cleared he had found himself facing six marines in full armour and brandishing several smaller but very dangerous looking rifles. Several of the officers of the ships' crew sat looking at him their contempt barely hidden by the inherent professionalism.

He couldn't blame them for their actions, especially after the clusterfrak that led to the defacto state of war between the thirteen human worlds. He straightened his shoulders and looked at the man standing in front of what couldn't have been anything less than the ship's main command chair, General Jack O'Neill.

Adama looked at the man as he stared back. "Commander William Adama, Commanding Officer of the Battlestar Valkyrie."

"General Jack O'Neill, Head of Homeworld Security, Commander of the Earth's Planetary Defence Forces," the other man replied before gesturing to the windows. "I have something that belongs to you Commander. You might have already seen her out there."

Adama turned to see the heavy cruiser that they had scanned earlier. Unlike the other wrecked and discarded ships he could still see nearby this one was lit up with her engines evidently running. Her nameplate had been removed, however and a crudely painted name he couldn't read put in its place. He turned back to O'Neill with the question on his lips.

Jack pre-empted him. "She's been renamed the Botany Bay. A couple centuries ago a place called Botany Bay was a harbour for prisoners to be dropped off on an island that was almost wholly a penal colony. We thought it was the right name for a ship like this."

"What is she?"

"She's a ship you're taking home when you leave in a few minutes." O'Neill replied. "Nine hundred and thirteen of your people are being returned to your colonies as a peace offering. Those few survivors are a group that behaved as decent people towards my world and the people that decided that they should be helped even though they helped destroyed several cities and more than fifty million people across the planet's surface. Most people would have liked to have used the same nukes you did on those survivors. These few are about a twentieth of the survivors of your fleet left here when you ran." Jack shrugged. "The rest are on another planet and will be staying there for as long as this war goes on. Anyone else we catch or bring back will likewise go to that planet. None have been tortured for information and none have been left to die if we could stop them. Most of our people were seriously upset about this decision but is part of our laws."

"Any you're letting them go?" asked Adama.

"Yep. Once your ship and that one are both fed the correct co-ordinates both of you will be sent home with your crew unharmed. After that, you will inform your government that the next time one of your ships comes within ten light years of this system, we will not only eradicate that ship but we'll blast another dozen out of the sky wherever we find them."

"We're not here for a fight General. Our orders said implicitly that we shouldn't get into a gunfight if we could help it," said Adama. "As it is, we've not caused any damage and if you want I'll have our nukes ejected into space so you can destroy them yourselves."

O'Neill smirked before looking out of the window at the star field as three more lights lit up close by. "All things considered that won't be necessary Commander. I doubt that you or your crew are overly suicidal right now."

Adama followed his gaze watching as his stomach dropped to the floor. Another two warships and one of the Prometheus types were now arcing into view. Fifteen warships were now evident and the Gods alone knew how many were out of sight or on other missions, some perhaps even close to the Colonies reconning or maybe even attacking. Six ships destroyed or routed two hundred of the Colonies best. Ships massing dozens of times their combined weights were blown apart and now they had three times the numbers and growing. The Admiralty would need to know about this turn of events as quickly as possible, if O'Neill was telling the truth and they were allowed to leave, of course.

"You could have killed the survivors and then us when we arrived but you are letting us go, both ships full of intelligence on your people and the local area. Why?"

"Because we've no reason to kill them or you," Jack shrugged.

"We're at war. That's usually enough."

"Not this time Commander," O'Neill nodded. "But this is the only freebie you get, understand that."

Adama nodded. "So what now?"

"Now we're going to send you back and then both you and the Botany Bay will use the co-ordinates we send you to go home. Don't come back to our system if you value your lives. Then I go home, eat pizza and drink a lot of beer."

"Sounds like a good plan, General."

"I thought so." Jack turned. "Send him back."

Adama disappeared in another shaft of light that deposited him back on his command deck practically where he had left it. Tigh spun around from his own position grasping a handhold on the DRADIS console beside him.

"Frak Bill, how the hell did they do that?" he asked. "Hell, what the hell did they do?"

"I don't know and I'm sure I really don't want to know," Bill whispered. "We'll be receiving a transmission from the Halsey shortly. It's a series of jump co-ordinates that they want us to use when we leave. We'll be escorting some of our own people home."

"What?" Tigh looked incredulously at his old friend. "They're letting out people go?

"Less than a thousand out of what they say they have, at least twenty thousand survivors." Bill sighed. "The majority of them are on another planet according to O'Neill."

"That's impossible."

"Is it? They have access to dozens of our ships any one of which can carry thousands of people between planets if crammed into every quarter and every spare space they can find. A few jumps to and from Earth and they have everybody they want to get rid of in one go. I believe O'Neill on this one."

"Sir," Gaeta spoke up. "We're getting a data stream from the Halsey… Sir they look like a jump course."

"Very well."

"Sir, it's a very strange one. Far bigger than anything I've seen before."

"Explain."

"The usual courses we plot for single jumps are a base twenty code to two hundred and forty points. This one is a base ten to over two thousand points." Gaeta explained shaking slightly. "Commander, this- this jump is as impossible as one I've ever seen. The computers indicate that this is a direct jump from Earth to the outer reaches of the Colonial Sector. We'd be back in orbit of Caprica in three jumps with two of them being within the Cyrannis systems themselves. I've never seen anything like this."

"Any chance it could cause us to overshoot our target, have us jump inside a planet?" Tigh questioned.

"I don't believe so, sir. These are cold calculations. It'll drop us right where it says it will. I could input the co-ordinates manually, just in case there's a virus that'll do far worse to us," Gaeta answered.

"Do it." Adama replied. "Send a transmission to the Botany Bay and tell them to do the same thing."

"Sir?" Gaeta asked.

"The Tau'ri aren't stupid enough to believe that we'd simply load the program in, they'd guess what we would really do."

"Aye, sir. It'll take a few minutes."

"Take your time, Ensign."

_**USS Halsey**_

_**Prometheus Class Cruiser**_

"Transmission between Battlestar Valkyrie and Cruiser Botany Bay."

"Translate it," O'Neill ordered.

"They are ordering the Bay to input their co-ordinates manually in case the transmission we sent them had a virus or any other form or malware included. The other ship is acknowledging. They'll be ready in about five minutes. It'll take another fifteen to spool up their FTL drives," Lt Commander Rico said. "Sir, are we really letting both these ships go?"

"Where there goes that plan." O'Neill replied, "Those Colonials and others like them helped save this planet Commander. I'm a lot of things but I keep my word."

"Yes, sir."

"The IOA are gonna be pissed with you again Jack," General Ronson said from behind them. "Letting those POWs out isn't a smart move."

"I made a deal with them, Ronson. The council agreed with me then and even if they don't, now the agreement was ironclad."

"Jackson?"

"Yup."

"That boy's too smart for his own good sometimes."

"Don't I know it."

"Sirs, both ships are powering up their sublight drives."

"All ships this is O'Neill. Pull back from the Colonial ships and open a hole for them."

All eight warships of the Tau'ri fleet slowly backed away from the Colonial vessels allowing them to navigate free and clear from their position. The battlestar began to move from her standstill towards empty space away from both Earth and its moon. As they moved out of their high orbit close to the stellar satellite the DRADIS picked up more ships close by. There was another of the command ships followed by another handful of the Prometheus', including one without its common bays. Instead, massive claws and cranes decorated the sides bringing crates and containers aboard.

Smaller escorts and ships akin to freighters or tankers also flew by several slowing down as they passed the Colonial warships as if to look at them for the first time. The incredible numbers of ships now available to the Tau'ri horrified many of the crew of the warship as the DRADIS pinged more and more craft throughout the system. Some were unlike the others while a handful were far bigger pyramidal shaped vessels that were bristling with weapons, at least the ones they could see purely by the eye.

"Colonial ships are spooling their FTL drives."

"All ships to full alert," O'Neill replied. "Just in case."

With a flash the Battlestar disappeared into its own version of FTL, its cruiser counterpart following it within a second. More than a minute passed before O'Neill nodded to himself and ordered the fleet to stand down. The Colonials were gone and they would be quite comfortably back in their own space. At least until the truth of the matter began to circulate. It was amazing what a few voices and whispers would be able to do to the Colonial government.

All things considered though he had a strange feeling he would see that Commander again.


	21. Chapter Nineteen

_**Chapter 19**_

_**Viper Research and Engineering Facility**_

_**Mitsubishi Testing Grounds**_

_**Japan**_

Hikiru Yamada was not a happy man, but to be fair that was an understatement of the year.

"And I'm telling you it'll be fine Hikiru. The entire thing is made up of the best stuff we have."

"I understand that Grant-san, but the fact is that it is a heavy modification of something built to use for a different tech base. The entire thing could come apart at anything above Mach one," The young Japanese man spoke up. "Please do not do this until we have tested it more."

"Old friend, if we tested this thing any more it'd have more degrees than I do. Now clear off and let me get this thing in the air."

"This is a mistake."

"I've got an ejection seat, a parachute and access to a transporter beacon. What could go wrong?" Steven Grant thought over what he'd just said. "I just really jinxed myself didn't I?"

"You are already crazy enough that a jinx would be the least of your problems."

"Look it's a takeoff manoeuvre and landing set, easiest thing possible and I promise I won't break Mach One without your say so. Alright?"

"You will not listen." Yamada dropped from the ladder pulling it away from the aircraft before trundling it away. "I will be there to make sure that you do not die in this foolish errand. Stupid, pig-headed English jerk."

Laughing lightly at his partner's antics, the British test pilot closed the cockpit of his highly modified fighter. A slight hiss sealed the highly advanced cockpit against the outside atmosphere completely enclosing him away from the external world. Hitting the ignition switches, the modified engines began to turn, shaking the entire aircraft slightly as they wound up. Securing the controls, he pushed the throttle to half way as he released the brakes sending the fighter hurtling forward.

The F-302 continued to accelerate far faster than its pilot was used to, reaching take-off speed within six seconds. Pulling back on the control column the fighter slipped into the air and away from the tower. Slowly the throttle was pulled back from the halfway point, slowing the fighter craft down to barely above stalling speed before the pilot allowed his grip to loosen from the controls. Slipping up his visor he wiped the sweat from his forehead before looking back at his instruments.

"This is Cobra One to control tower, come in."

"_This is Control Tower."_ The barely restrained voice of Yamada snarled. _"What the hell were you thinking up there, you fool."_

"Slow down, old man." Grant replied. "I pushed the throttle to what we believed would be take off speed with these new engines, we must have miscalculated somewhere because I was off the floor in half the time I expected to be."

He could hear the sigh of his friend across the radio. "How is she handling?"

"Not too bad." Grant moved the controls sending the plane in a few slight manoeuvres across the sky, "The handling is a little stickier than on the original. We may need to improve the ducting for the variable thrust to compensate for the heavier thrust ratio. I'm going to take her back up to about half power and climb to about fifteen thousand and then give her a shakedown at high altitudes."

"Alright, we will get you cleared to thirty thousand, but after that you get back down here and let us go over the instruments," the Asian man ordered.

"You got it, Boss."

Pointing the 302's nose to the sky, the test pilot eased the throttle up higher towards the midpoint. Already the fighter was hurtling through the air at several hundred miles an hour before he took his hand off the power limiting the engines to below the speed of sound. Grant settled into his seat, thrilled at the power behind him replacing the far more limited systems that the original fighter had had before the modifications. They had their reasons to hate the Colonials, but for Grant, Yamada and their team, they could only thank them.

The newly modified 302/B had been rebuilt from the fuselage up adding a number of major changes that had increased the potential within the space going interceptor. The Colonial technologies, while as a whole were slightly inferior as compared to the 302 class, were still a matured technology and were very, very capable when employed aboard the Earth built fighters.

The three tier engine systems of the original had been replaced by a quartet of far smaller and advanced engines ripped out of the Colonial Vipers and modified with a few touches of their own. Now they ran off of a combination solid fuel supply and an enhanced Naquada generator.

A few more modifications had been garnered from their own fighters, allowing for the engines to be reduced yet further in size and adapted to use vectored thrust. The already impressive agility of the Earth fighter had been improved by more than twice its original capability even before the tweaks that were usually inevitable on a modification like this. A few avionic instruments had likewise been stripped out of the vipers to enhance those already aboard the 302, specifically to replace those that had controlled the three engines of the original.

Now they had found that the changes made to the fighter were far and beyond what they had expected even from their computer models. Something somewhere had been missed and now the modified fighter would quickly outstrip the original in almost all aspects.

As the aircraft reached its target height the power was pulled back to the minimum needed, Grant looked across the panels. With all systems in the green across the board, he contacted the Ground Control.

"This is Cobra One to Control, have reached designated height and am awaiting orders."

"_This is Control, local airspace is clear Cobra one, manoeuvres at your discretion."_

"Roger Control, this should be fun."

Thanks to the use of inertial dampeners and lifting areas of the original design, the 302 had always been among the most agile of the known fighters whether from the allies or the enemy. They were able to outrun and outmanoeuvre everything from Death Gliders to Wraith Darts. Their abilities were only matched by those of the Colonial Vipers, which was to be expected from a race with almost a century of stellar conflict. Refits to the 302s would blow the Vipers out of the water the next time that there were forced into combat against their enemies. But for the moment, the team needed to know exactly what their new fighter was capable of.

Pushing the throttle up to the same point as before, the pilot began a complex group of turns and twists pushing the fighter to its very limits. Pulling out of a turn, Grant activated the combined inertial dampener/thrust controls before pulling the control column straight towards him. The result was phenomenal, the entire craft flipped almost a full one eighty while continuing on its course.

A split second later as it completed a full three hundred and sixty degree flip while still inside the atmosphere, the fuselage began to creak and groan under the pure effort that was being required. Stressed to the very limit by the manoeuvres, the fighter's structure shifted back as the forces against it flattened out. The 302 had been built to take atmospheric entry and exit on a regular basis but even with the powerfully built structure of the world's first active starfighter, the pure strain put on the fighter within the atmosphere could possibly cause irreparable damage.

"Cobra One to Control, this thing moves like it was already in outer space. Systems are nominal and the structure is intact, request permission to go Mach Plus."

"_Control to Cobra One, telemetry agrees, but I caution that the modifications in simulation have become less than stable once Mach one plus had been reached within the atmosphere. At the first sign of a problem you are to reduce power immediately."_

"Roger that Control, Cobra One out." Grant signed off. "Let's see just what this thing can do."

Pushing the throttle past the mid-point this time, he accelerated the fighter past the speed of sound and well into the points system afterwards. Point one, point two up to point five half way between the first and second mach limiters. The acceleration was above and beyond that of any of the fighter craft that he had flown up till now, be it human, alien, British, American, Colonial or something someone hacked up in their private garage.

Passing through the sound barrier the modified 302 began to shudder as the inherent instability of the design began to make itself known, built to include the best technology available to the Earth forces the fighter made even the deliberately unstable F22 Raptor and Eurofighter Typhoon seem sedate in comparison. Continuing his acceleration Grant felt the flight begin to smooth out as the powerful flight computers both onboard and on the ground made tens of thousand of miniature adjustments every second. Given its already impressive capabilities in the air the 302 would now far surpass fighter in the known galaxy and then some.

They would need it the next time the Earth forces came up against the Colonial fighter wings. Although the losses of the few hundred fighters of the Earth's defence forces had been over three quarters their number, they had taken out the equivalent of three and a half to one in favour of the 302s.

Even with the majority of the losses taken by the Colonials having been due to the use of heavily enhanced nukes that exploded amongst their lines, the Vipers had been a match for the Earth fighters due to their experience and slightly better technology of their Viper and Raptor counterparts. The problem for the IOA forces had been pure numbers arrayed against them. The ships may have been able to go one on one or even several to one before they ran out of armament but the fighters had been too close in ability to win the day.

A further problem had arisen as the Colonials revealed just how many fighters they could field during the battle. Just one Battlestar group could launch as many fighters as the Earth forces had in total with some left over. The entire fleet had one squadron of their own fighters for every one 302 that the Earth could scrounge into the battle. Worse odds had been seen but only in ancient history or imperial invasions of other countries.

Considering the pure numbers against them several of the nations now belonging to the IOA had questioned continuing to build and populate their defences with expensive aircraft, especially considering the experience that the Colonial fleet had in space based fighter and warship combat. Unlike the other powers such as the Goa'uld and the Wraith, the Earth's fighters weren't used in ground assault, kidnapping or wholesale terror against less developed races. As such the point defences on their warships could simply be upgraded to take on large numbers of enemy fighters.

With the Colonials unable to penetrate their shields with anything less than a multimillion ton ship ramming them, the IOA council believed that the costs for the fighter wings could simply go into newer vessels, especially gun and missile heavy ships such as those under construction by the United Kingdom and her Commonwealth and the Chinese Navy. Earth's point defence systems would shred the vipers beyond their own missile range while the survivors would simply waste their ammunition against the 304 class' shields. However, the team hoped that the modifications to the starfighters would tip the balance even further their way by making sure that the 302s would be able to take on more than five to one odds. The speed and agility advantages already apparent in this redesign meant that the Vipers would find themselves in a bad position if they made another attempt on Earth. Unfortunately for the pilots that would be defending said world, they could and likely would be outnumbered by far, even with thousands of fighters either under construction or planned there was little they would be able to do outside of a small number of very heavy missile barrages to soften up the Colonial fleet.

Slipping the throttle forward to the second notch, Grant felt the craft pick up speed far beyond anything that built on Earth, blowing past Mach two, then three into four. He pulled up on the stick tilting the nose to the sky and began climbing past thirty thousand feet. He blinked as the angle continued to rise, coming close to sixty degree and continuing up ever faster, the speed and angle of ascent was far deeper and faster than they should have been considering the throttle was far below where it should have been.

"Cobra One to Control, systems looking good at Mach Four Point three and thirty six thousand feet. Possible problem with the thrust to weight ratio giving me more power to the main engines than they should, continuing to fifty thousand and Mach Five plus."

"_Any other problems, Cobra One?"_

"Negative Control. She's moving as well as anything I've ever flown."

"_Then I owe you an apology, Grant-San."_

"Nah forget it. The buttressing worked around the engines better than we expected. We'll need to check on other trinium alloy mixes for that if we get the chance."

"_Affirmative, Cobra One,"_ said Yamata. _"Bring her back down; we've got tests to do."_

"Aahhh, come on, Hikiru! This thing can take a hell of a lot more. We might as well see what she can really do before we rebuild her with the rest of the new tech we're putting in," Grant argued. "I'm going to push her to three quarters and sixty thousand feet, then I'll bring her down."

"_No, bring her down, now."_ _"We need the on board telemetry and instrumentation to show what she can do."_

"Spoil-sport."

"_Once we have the rest of the information we can begin tests with the new equipment Grant-San, including the new weapons system and Heads-up Display."_

Grant grinned at the inflection in his friend's voice. Out of all of them, the introverted Japanese was the one most looking forward to the upgrades that were being made to the fighter's combat equipment. Thanks to the influx of scientists, technicians, theorists and a hell of a lot of financing, the weapons designers for the fleet had been able to compact down known and experimental technologies into a new generation of armament for both the warships and now the starfighters.

The next set of experiments would see the total replacement of the F302's twin Vulcan cannon armament with a pair of modified and severely cut down versions of the Daedalus class's point defence rail guns. Using a lot of new technologies with some strange and not too common thinking, the new weapons would be small enough to fit inside the fuselage thanks to the removal of three quarters of the engine and power systems.

With a reservoir of caseless 5mm rounds instead of large magazines of the common 7.62 or 27mm caliber that most fighters were forced to use, the railguns would be able to fire for longer both in combat duration and would expand the engagement times by more than three times. Facing the 20mm cannons of the Viper classes would give the 302 the higher effective range with their weapons allowing them to get in hits far beyond the Colonial's own. Backed up by the increase from two missiles per wing to four, this would allow the Earth based pilots to hit both fighters and Colonial warships from far beyond their current range.

Their missile armaments were already at the maximum that could be carried by the external hard points, however with the increase in power to the main engines, heavier anti-ship weapons could be carried as could a single larger nuclear warhead within the ship's hull as the space would be available with the removal of the second seat and old fuel system and supply tanks.

A final modification had been made to the fighter's internal communications and data systems. This had been done using both HUD technology from both reverse engineered alien technology and several newer systems from the arguably more advanced vipers. The holographic system would replace the majority of the dials and readouts of the F-302's cockpit, however even with the replacements, backups would be there in case of a whiteout or system error by those systems.

It was unfortunate that the plasma refits were still unlikely in the current climate. Even with the completed and installed versions on the warships of the fleet, they were still deemed too dangerous to put onto anything smaller than an Apollo Class Frigate. Given time they would be able to knock out the bugs and improve the size and firepower of the weapons, but by that time Grant already knew they would have started replacing these snakehead knock offs with real home grown designs instead.

"Alright, alright I'm pulling back." Grant frowned at the controls. "That's odd."

"_Don't say shit like that, Grant."_ The voice of their commander and military attaché Colonel Baxter came over the radio.

"It's not odd as in bad, but odd and in 'what the hell.'"

"_What is it Grant?"_ Yamada asked.

"The Naquada reactor is increasing power to the engines for some reason, I'm pulling down the throttle but it's still rising."

"_Pull back on the throttle to ten percent."_

"I'm already below that, I thought the thrust/weight ratio was screwed up."

"_Cut the power and try for a manual reboot."_

"Affirmative Control."

Grant hit the kill switch for the reactor sending the command to shut down the primary power systems, batteries and a small amount of the Colonial's fuel source were all that kept him aloft. At the speeds he was going they wouldn't last long. Reactivating the Mark One-C Naquada generator the entire fighter regained equilibrium and slowed as the throttle was eased down.

"This is Cobra One, reactor shut down and restart was successful. Speed has dropped to sub-mach speeds."

"_We read you Cobra One, do you require retrieval?"_

"I…" Grant began, but the fighter had gone out of control once and could have continued to speed up until the fuselage gave way. On the other hand, it seemed to be alright at this point in time but there was no way to know what would happen if he continued to fly and something else went wrong. He sighed and leant back in his chair. "Affirmative Control, send the Guard Dog."

"_On her way, Cobra One. Be careful."_

"I'll try, Cobra One out." Grant sighed as he closed the comms channel as he awaited the Daedalus class ship high above them to bring him in. "Well maybe next time."

_**Unknown Location**_

_**South Africa**_

_**Fifty Miles inside the Exclusion Zone.**_

"The test went ahead as you requested, my lord."

"And?"

"Seventy percent failure in the reactor systems leading to an almost uncontrolled runaway increase in speeds. The damage to the reactor will be insurmountable leading to a withdrawal of the equipment from use by the armed forces. As the fault is part of the original design and can not be worked around, we should see a request for a new tender within the month. Our agent within the Lockheed design group was more than successful and should return to us within the week."

"Good. Once the tender is requested put our own bid in within three days at one third above the price of the original reactor shielding and put on the usual caveats as well. We can't allow Stargate Command to think we don't care about this world can we?"

"Indeed not my lord." The woman smirked nastily.

"I'm beginning to like this insignificant little planet; shame to see it go to waste." Ba'al replied with a laugh. "Well, not until I can get as much out of it as I can after all."

_**USAF Icarus**_

_**Prometheus-II Class Cruiser**_

The Icarus dropped from hyperspace high above a desolate and deserted world, little more than a wreck of a planet the view was unfortunately a very familiar one to its sole non-military passenger. Entering a close orbit invisible waves of energy scanned across the surface of the world pulling up what little detail that existed. Several large areas shone like water but close up was very different indeed. Icecaps across both poles had begun to expand and grow across the planet gradually destroying everything in its path, an ice age in the making.

"We're in orbit, Doctor Jackson."

"Any life signs?"

"Except for at the poles there's very little of the biosphere, the damage done by Anubis must have been total on this side of the planet." Colonel Everett Young looked out of the window. "We've got massive deposits of glass and debris around where the Stargate was, the entire area is completely destroyed."

"I didn't think there would be any, but I needed to know." Daniel looked back out. "What about the other scans?"

"The inhabitants were very thorough in their construction. There is a very high amount of naquada and trinium on the planet's surface, high levels of heavy minerals in deep veins across the entire planet. It's perfect for what we need."

"That much I remember." Daniel kept staring at his old home., "Even after three years I'm still remembering things that I'd forgotten. Are you sending down teams?"

"Yes, two teams." Young confirmed. "One to the capital, the other to the largest vein of Naquada, and see if we can set up a camp at both."

"I'd like to go down with one of them."

"I thought you would. Colonel Telford will be heading the expedition to the city and Major Thomas to the vein."

"The capital I think this time, Colonel." Daniel decided. "I never got the chance to see much of that world. Maybe I should."

"Your choice Doctor Jackson. Telford's team will be in the port bay when you're ready."

Less than an hour later, Daniel found himself on the planet's surface watching as two of the ship's marine teams spread out from the beam down point. The place seemed deserted and for good reason. The vast majority of the capital city had been rendered little more than ash and debris from a good few direct hits from one of Anubis' upgraded warships. The stargate itself was gone, most likely destroyed by a direct hit from a capital scale cannon although it's non-standard construction meant that the usual detonation of a stargate didn't happen, meaning that except for the hole where it used to stand the area around it was simply covered with scraps of buildings.

Sighing to himself, Daniel stowed his rifle and bent down to pull a small piece of metal away from the side of a building. The grimacing skull of one of the world's former denizens lay cracked and broken on the floor. Looking down, Daniel could see the rest of the body underneath the fallen stanchion of what had once been a municipal building, looking back up he carefully and with respect, replaced the metal plate and stood up.

"The Tollan did good work Doctor Jackson." Lt Montgomery walked up behind him. "Some of the buildings are still intact as are a number of computer systems. Their power plants are dead though, so we'll have to bring some stuff down from the Icarus to support and attempt to retrieve data from their computers."

"The Curia quarters for one should have something we need if they haven't been destroyed." Daniel looked around. "It's a hell of a lot colder that it used to be, must be all the dust in the air."

"Anubis left a lot intact didn't he? Why didn't anyone come back after and rip the place off?" the marine asked.

"Most people probably couldn't get here unless they had high technology ships like Apophis or Anubis. The rest were probably afraid to, in case they were seen by one of Anubis' ships and destroyed or worse, followed. Some might even have been unwilling to come close considering the destruction caused to the planet would mean most travellers would see it as a ghost world."

"A ghost world?"

"The galaxy has been under the yoke of the system lords for tens of thousands of years, Lieutenant. Superstition was the watchword of the day for most of them, even those with advanced technology. A ghost world is one of the most terrifying things that most of them could think of. It's the same reason we've found so many empty, but untouched worlds all over the galaxy. No-one is stupid enough to invade their space in case the spirits of their dead population rise up against them."

The young marine swallowed. "You believe that, Doctor Jackson?"

"I've seen stranger things LT, far stranger things," Daniel replied smiling. "I've been stranger things than that."

"Yes, sir. We've no sign of survivors yet. Everything's untouched around here."

"My guess is that most of the survivors if any would be long gone from here. Why stay somewhere that is a big fat target for any system lord that decides that he disliked the Tollan for any reason. No, if the Icarus picks up any life signs they'll be far away from here, well into the mountains and lowlands across the other side of the world," Daniel supposed, "although they might have left some clue for any other survivors to follow them, we just need to find them."

"Did you know many of them, sir?"

"The Tollan?" Daniel asked at the marine's nod. "A few like Narim and Travell mainly; a small number of historians and scientists that allowed me to look through their archives the few times we were allowed to come here. But most of the Tollan race kept to themselves when it came to other civilisations mostly due to fear, but sometimes due to arrogance."

"Excuse me. Doctor Jackson." Lt. Colonel Telford walked up to the two of them. "I think you need to see this."

Escorting the archaeologist to the other side of the former Curia building, the two marines came across an opened set of double doors, crusted with dirt and warped slightly by extreme heat from the close range impacts of the Goa'uld plasma fire they were still sturdy and usable. They had already been forced open by the SG team allowing Daniel inside the small corridor. The far end had collapsed inwards, the structure falling down into the space below blocking the way into the inner rooms of the council chambers.

However, the blockage was not the thing that was foremost on his mind when he went through the doors. At the far end attached to a fallen post was a single small circle of fabric with a metal disc hanging from it. On the metal was a single word-

"Schrödinger."

"Doctor Jackson?" Telford proffered.

"It's a cat collar." Daniel smiled. "It's a message."

"A message?"

"Yep." Daniel keyed his radio. "Jackson to Icarus."

"_This is Icarus, go ahead."_

"We have confirmation Colonel, there are survivors on this planet." the linguist said, "And they left us a message."

"_Understood Doctor Jackson. We'll let Home world Command know."_

"Thank you, Jackson out." He looked up at Telford.

"The cat, I remember the report," the marine replied. "If they are still here shouldn't we have had some kind of response from our hails or something from the planetary scans?"

"Parts of the planet are still heavily forested or full of heavy metals. They could hide most of their population without problems," Daniel surmised. "Besides, with the amount of damage done to the infrastructure here there may not be anything they can respond with."

"So what now?"

"I haven't a clue. Unless the Icarus can find something then we'll have to search the cities and surrounding areas one at a time." He looked at Telford's smirk. "What?"

"I think we have something on the Icarus that might just help with that."

_**Two Hours Later.**_

"Now why the hell didn't we think of this?" Daniel shouted over the sound of the wind.

"Most of the time we explored only around the gates," Telford shouted back. "That was usually all we needed. Now that we're at war with the Colonials, the Marine Corps decided to change the way things were done. The Brits threw a few on their warships for just this kind of thing. We just followed on from that."

The two military off-road vehicles chewed up the space between the capital and the closest of the surrounding towns. With the cities and population areas the primary targets, the transit ways between them were mostly intact with breaks in the material usually due to erosion or from plant life retaking its home. One or two times they had had to drive around craters from Death Glider attacks or the odd piece of debris blown into the sky only to fall on the road.

"Slow down, sir." the young Lt said from the passenger seat. "There's something up ahead."

Eyes now peeled for anything out of the ordinary the occupants of the vehicle watched carefully as they coasted to as stop a few dozen meters from the figure on the road; slowly Montgomery turned the body over. He stopped before shaking his head. The body was dead and looked to have been for some time.

"Nothing, sir. It's a dead body." he called over his shoulder before frowning. The blood that had come out of a neck wound was still visible on the ground and clothing. "But it's not been dead for more than a few weeks. I think we found a survivor."

"On foot out here." Telford shouted. "We can't be far from one of their enclaves."

"The wound seems to have been made by something living." He pulled out a knife before easing something out of the wound. "It left something inside the neck."

Walking back to the vehicle he washed down his gloved hand with water from a canteen, cleaning off the gunk from the fragment as well as his hand. Brushing it off somewhat, he held it up in the light in front of his CO and the archaeologist.

"It's a tooth, alright." Daniel replied. "It's not human if that's what you're thinking."

"After five years Doctor Jackson it wouldn't have surprised me." Telford smirked before sobering "What is it?"

"By the looks of it some kind of large canine or feline," frowned Daniel. "There are a few animal species on this planet but they stick to the forests and non-inhabited areas. Even with the damage taken here they shouldn't be this close to the cities."

"After the bombardment Doctor, they may have had to come closer for food and warmth. The dust clouds don't make this the easiest of places to live in especially after the ash settled." Telford frowned again. "Times like this we could do with some of Atlantis' life sign readers."

"Still nothing from the orbital scans?"

"Not yet, one second though." Telford grabbed the vehicle's radio. "Icarus this is Telford, come in."

"_We read you David, what's up?"_

"Can you scan the immediate ten k radius for anything life signs? Our scanners can get through the interference to get an accurate reading."

"_Give us a few minutes,"_ Young replied.

Within that allotted time the ship scanned through the clouds of ash and dust in the air above the team. The devastation to the areas around them was so complete that even away from the cities it was difficult for the warship to pick up anything through the debris.

"_There's a trinium mine about six miles to your southwest, there's little above ground construction but we can scan up to a few hundred meters underground then the interference gets two heavy. Another target is a uranium deposit fifteen miles north north east, but that's it in this area."_

"We'll try the closest one Everett. If we don't find anything we'll return to the ship." Telford nodded to Daniel who nodded back. "We'll try again in the morning."

"_Understood, Icarus Out."_

"Weather's closing in," the Colonel said. "We won't get much more out of the day before the hail starts. If it comes to it we'll say in the mining tunnels or beam out."

"Alright." Daniel responded. "Shall we?"

The mine was unlike those of Earth based construction. Here the mine was made up of long shallow underground caverns mined out and cleared while fusing the loose rock and soil that made up the majority of the crust. Deep transit tubes and tunnels spun round and downwards through the surface of the planet like a corkscrew with yet more caverns and tunnels built in the same manner as the opened caverns topside.

Fast trams could make their way to anywhere in the complex within minutes even given the size and depth of the mine, while large automated buckets would zip back and forth from the mines. Given the size of the complex and the technology used it was easy to see how the Tollan had begun to strip the planet of the majority of its Trinium. It seemed the request that led to their destruction wasn't as completely bogus as first believed. The complex however was a mess, two years without repairs or upkeep meant that the entire place was covered with dust and debris with scattered nests belonging to animals that had made the caverns their home or skeletons of those that didn't survive.

None of the rail carts seemed to be in evidence, only the ore carriers and a few maintenance buggies. The attack must have killed the power before the miners and anyone else below could use them. Daniel hoped that there was a manual entrance down there, or those poor bastards would have been trapped down there slowly dying of suffocation or starvation or both. He shuddered to think what they would find down there.

A burly Sgt walked up to Daniel. "What do you think, sir?"

"No power means no way of getting down there unless we find a staircase or some other way down."

"Even as advanced as they were, it's good sense to have a second way out of an enclosed mine shaft," the Sgt replied. "We just need to find it."

"Even if we find it there's more than a passing chance that the impacts up top have damaged the tunnels, we might have nothing more than blocked tunnels like the corridors up top. If we do then until we get some construction battalions down here we're stuck." Montgomery looked across at the rest. "So where do we look?"

"Same place as back home, the platforms and tunnels."

The closest entrances to the underground caverns were at the far end of the 'station' with most of the heavy doors already long since sealed due to loss of power. Somehow one of the massive doors had been jammed open by someone leaving one very steep crevasse bare for all to see. The marines quietly rigged up their ropes and pulleys to the rear of the vehicle and headed down into the pitch black of the deep dark tunnels, Telford and one of the senior sergeants touched down first followed quickly by the rest of the eight man team.

Silently the Colonel gestured to three of the men and pointed to the end of the tunnel, following orders, the marines spread out guns ready as they pushed down the into the opening. Pitch black turned into twilight as they continued down. The senior Sgt dropped to one knee bringing his heavy rifle up ready.

"We've got movement,." Sgt Clarkson whispered. "Shadows at the far end, small light source at the same point."

"_Go to Infra-Red."_

"Roger."

The burly Sgt slipped his goggle down and moved quietly through the shadow covered tunnel into the area ahead.

Three signatures showed up in his goggle, one was the candle while two more were curled up on floor covered in a multitude of dirty and ripped blankets. It looked as if they had been down here for a very long time. Gesturing behind him Clarkson indicated the two survivors before moving forward.

Neither figure was roused by his approach both already fast asleep at the small alcove. A quick glance gave evidence to the amount of time that the Tollans had been down here with grime and debris piled up in one corner while another had rows of supplies that must have been hard to get hold of considering the damage done to the topside of the planet. A handful of small weapons were also arrays nearby both pistol and rifle variants of those that had been identified by the SGC before the fall of Tollana.

"Two contacts both seem to be asleep," he whispered.

"_Approach and make contact,"_ Telford ordered.

"Roger, stand by."

Standing up the marine Sgt walked across to the wall and slammed it with the butt of his gun sending a loud ringing bouncing around the enclosed space. It took less than a second for the inhabitants to come to consciousness and grab their weapons. Clarkson held his hands clear of his body and weapons, rifle now dangling from its sling barrel down. Both figures were still shrouded in their own clothes, large hoods covering their faces with shadow.

"Easy, I'm just here to help. Sgt Harold Clarkson of the United States Air Force Ship Icarus, we're here looking for survivors."

"No one comes to this world."

"What world are you from?" the other one growled.

"That's the thing," Clarkson winced slightly. "We're from Earth."

"Earth," the same person growled. "I should kill you where you stand."

"Oh, I wouldn't try."

"Why not?"

"Look down."

The Tollan looked down to see two small red dots appear on his chest, the thin laser lines disappearing into the darkness. Huffing slightly the figure lowered its weapon followed by its fellow.

"Thank you. Now why exactly did you think it would be a great idea to shoot someone who's trying to find out if you guys were still alive down here?"

"After what your people did to us?"

"What we did?"

"Because of your people our entire world was destroyed."

"Hold up on that…"

"Sergeant, If I may?" said a from behind.

"All yours, sir."

"Hi..." Daniel said out loud as he left the shadows, "I'm…"

"Doctor Jackson?" grumbled the other figure. "I'm surprised you came back."

"We've only just been able to get a ship to Tollana to find out what happened." Daniel looked at the two figures. "We wanted to know if anyone was left."

"And to steal anything you could get your hands on," The first figure accused them, "anything left behind after you got our people killed."

"We weren't responsible for what happened here."

"Your people caused the Goa'uld to target us. If you had done as you were told to and stayed there, our home wouldn't have been destroyed!"

"Is that what you think?" Clarkson sneered. "You're more of a moron than I thought. Your people decided to betray us and send a nice little phased bomb through to destroy our planet. You really think it would have ended there?"

"No." the second man said., "But it would have given us a chance to find a way of stopping Anubis."

"At the risk of a planet with several dozen times the population of yours?" Telford looked over the two people. "We found this world, helped your planet and population from the mouth of death at least twice and you decided to stab us in the back, instead of helping us fight the Goa'uld. We finally were able to get a ship and came back to find survivors and get them out of here. If the rest of your people act like this we might just ignore you and leave you here to rot."

"We didn't ask you to come here."

"Please everybody, enough." Daniel exclaimed. "None of us are to blame for what happened. Anubis would have taken this planet out as soon as he had the chance either way. Your people were a threat to his dominance and once he had the technology to defeat you he'd have done whatever he liked to make you serve him. He's long gone and won't be coming back now or ever again. Your planet is safe from any attack from him or his people."

"Until another system lord comes around."

"The system lords are gone, brought down by their own Jaffa two years ago."

"What are you talking about?" the first man asked. "The System Lords have ruled over this galaxy for ten thousand years. How could the possibly have been destroyed?"

"If they were still out there do you really think they wouldn't have ripped off everything you had down here and taken the rest of you for hosts or slaves?" Montgomery looked at the two. "The major powers out there are the Jaffa Union, the Lucian Alliance and us."

"What could Earth possibly have done to become a major power?"

"Saving every living being the galaxy several times over kinda gives us a rep," Clarkson scowled. "We've got the name and the firepower to back it up with now."

"You can't have that much in only a few years."

"Enough to take on two hundred armed warships and beat them back with minimal losses." Clarkson grinned back nastily. "Plus destroying Anubis and dozens of his most powerful Ha'taks, a rogue Jaffa fleet and other assorted nasties that we've blown out of the stars. The fact that the Asgard, a dozen different powers and the heads of the Jaffa Nation all owe us big time means that we're in a good place."

"A likely story."

"Well considering you're in this place because of the shit you tried to pull instead of thinking it through, you think we care what you think?"

"Please calm down," intoned Daniel. "Look we're here to help, not argue. We didn't know if there were any survivors on this world let alone any within the limits of the capital city. None of our scans were able to pick up anyone on surface. We didn't know anyone was left until we found a dead body on the side of the road. One that was only about three or four week's dead."

"Golman." The second figure slumped slightly. "He went out to forage a few weeks ago. We thought maybe he'd got to another enclave."

"Will you be quiet?" the first survivor hissed.

"What's the point?" The second looked across at his fellow survivor, "They could get anything out of us if they want to and they haven't tried anything."

Pulling down his hood, the second figure looked out at the Earth-born humans; his bald head was crossed with old burn scars and healed over tears in the skin. The ragged beard looked dry cut without the use of a mirror or a honed blade. The sunken eyes and sallow flesh pointed to a bad diet and a long, long time underground out of the sun. They had seen worse but not by much.

The figure stepped forward and stared at Daniel. "I am Defence Guard First Class Molin of the Curia Security Force." he said. "I remember you well Doctor Jackson."

"You were one of the guards that tried to keep us confined during Anubis' blackmail attempts."

"Yes, I was. I was one of the few to survive in bombardment of the Curia buildings by Death Gliders." Molin nodded. "My friend here and I were able to rally a few of us down here."

"If we'd known we would have tried sending help long ago," said Daniel. "I'm sorry."

"Without a Stargate and with the main communications arrays destroyed there was no way for anyone to know we were here. The ships we had available got who they could off of the planet and escaped. Most of them made it before they could be targeted and destroyed. After five years they might even be approaching friendly territory." Molin looked at the archaeologist. "I have to warn you however that a lot of survivors on this world will and do blame the Tau'ri for what happened here even after the truth came out. I can't tell you any more than that Doctor Jackson, all I can ask is that you and your people leave this world now before someone ends up hurt or dead."

"Who's in charge down here?" Daniel asked, "Could we at least talk to them, maybe we can try and get some supplies to you somehow."

"Doctor Jackson, that isn't our mission." Telford said. "We've got enough trouble as it is without bringing more into it."

"Well we can't leave them now we know."

"We can try to get help once we're done here."

"Let me talk to whoever is in charge and we can find out what they need."

"No, none of you will be going any further." The first man looked at them. "We don't want your help, and we don't need your help. Leave."

"That's not your choice," Molin snapped at the other Tollan. "I'll take one of you with us; the rest will stay here until otherwise told. Doctor Jackson if you…."

Montgomery interrupted. "I'll go. One of us unarmed should be alright. Better one of us than Doctor Jackson or you, Colonel."

"Are you sure, lieutenant?" Telford asked the junior officer. The sooner this was over with the better for them all.

"Yes, sir. I don't think anything will happen, at least, not yet."

"Very well," Telford agreed reluctantly. "If you aren't back within the hour we'll be coming for you."

"Thank you, sir." Montgomery flicked his sidearm out of its holster before handing it and his rifle to the Sergeant. "I'm ready when you guys are."

The trio left the military team behind them as they delved further into the dank tunnels behind them. A good twenty minutes passed as they dropped deeper into the man made caves lit barely by a small number of small, weak lights linked together every few hundred feet. At the end of the final tunnel the light increased dramatically opening out into a roughly carved expanse more than a mile long and half again as wide. Thousands of people, possibly more, milled around, either asleep, playing games or repairing equipment, clothing or anything else that could be of use to the survivors.

Walking through the assembled throngs of people the Tau'ri officer was uncomfortably aware of the faces of the people around him, dirty, marked, scarred and burned. They looked at him, a multitude of emotions stitched on their faces, none of which he particularly wanted them to demonstrate as he passed by. One man was held in place by several of his fellows as the Lt. continued on. Montgomery pretended not to notice the angry man nor those holding him. If they wanted him dead there was little that could be done about it.

As he approached the end of the concourse Montgomery noticed a congregation at the head, unlike the clustered survivors this area was kept as clean as could be expected and somewhat deserted. Undeterred by the looks of the people he was intruding on the soldier stepped up close to the person who led these few survivors, the haggard looking man had scars and burn marks much like those of the rest of his people but there the similarity ended. Deep lines were evident around his eyes and mouth caused by more than a small amount of pain, the man was missing his right leg half way up his thigh while his arm was held crooked by a permanent sling around his waist.

"Sir, this is Lt Montgomery of the Tau'ri."

"So your people came back," the man said. His voice was horse. "I'm surprised they deigned to make an attempt to find us after the last time we met."

"We weren't able to get anyone here until recently, sir. We've had more than a few problems to deal with before we could check on the worlds that Anubis attacked."

"And what happened to Anubis?"

"Gone, taken out by another one of the Ancients."

"Then at least we are able to reclaim our world."

"Yeah, most of the planet is still here. Dr Jackson said it had something to do with superstition."

"Daniel is here?"

"Umm, yes sir, he is."

"Then please take me to him."

The crippled man pushed himself up on his single leg, the people around him easing his attempt as he stood up straight grasping a crude crutch to his side. Years of evident practice allowed the man to hobble upright.

"Easy, are you sure of this?" the Canadian officer asked. "We've just got here and to be honest you look like you'd barely reach the tunnels let alone to the other end."

"I am more than capable of doing so," the leader answered. "Please take me to him."

"Alright, one moment." Montgomery replied grabbing his mic. "Sierra Golf Indigo One five to One Niner."

"_This is One Niner_." Telford's voice came across the earpiece

"We have a survivor here that wants to see Sierra Golf One- Three."

"_Threat assessment."_

"Minimal, survivor is no threat to One-Three."

"_Alright, have them bring the two of you back here. We'll be waiting."_

"Yes sir. One Five Out." He turned back to the assembling Tollans. "I've been authorised to take you back to Doctor Jackson, but no more than three of you."

"What? That's ridiculous," one of the men shouted. "We can't allow this Sir."

"Yes we can and we will. These people aren't here to hurt us."

"Sir, we can't allow this.",

"Yes you can and I will be going," the man bit out. "We need help if we are going to survive and the Tau'ri are our best chance now. If they wanted anything from us they could have taken it and we'd never have seen them coming. I will meet with Doctor Jackson."

The twenty plus minute walk turned into one of more than an hour as the Tollan Leader walked alongside Montgomery. The same two men from before walked in front of them weapons rose in case of trouble. Several times the Lt considered asking if he could help the other man and each time he held his tongue. None of the survivors looked as if they would accept help in any way especially the injured. Maybe some took their injuries as a badge of honour and maybe some were unable to ask for help, but all were still as stubborn and pig headed as the reports suggested.

"Halt!" a voice said from the end of the tunnel.

"Colonel Telford."

"Lt. Montgomery, stay where you are."

"Yes, sir."

Telford approached the foursome his gun pointed down but ready while the rest of the team kept watch both down the tunnel and over the Tollan group. "Report, Lt."

"Sir, this gentleman is the leader of the survivor enclave that made it into the tunnels. There are several thousand people down there possibly more. Their leader wanted to talk to Doctor Jackson and I agreed."

"Very well, Doctor Jackson?"

"I'm here."

The Tollan leader looked up at the former member of SG1 and smiled slightly, something that he had done very rarely since the destruction as the other man approached. Daniel's own eyes widened in recognition as he took in the shell of a man and stopped.

"Hello, Daniel."

"Narim?"

_**Battlestar Valkyrie**_

_**Guardian Class Three Battlestar **_

_**Border of the Cyrannus Sector.**_

In what seemed as both a split second and hours combined, the two Colonial ships burst from FTL in a flash of light. Onboard both ships, command began to check the status of their ships and crew. No ship in the fleet had even come close to the jump length that they had just been through, indeed only a very few could have come close with the most advanced computers that could be made available.

The crews of both ships stood stock still as they looked around them. Aboard the Battlestar the command crew stared at the DRADIS screens. The ship was intact as was its crew, but where were they and could the Tau'ri have really been telling the truth when Adama ordered the use of their co-ordinates? Even with the most advanced and capable scanners and charts there was no way that the Colonials themselves could have made that trip in a single jump let alone even come close to calculating one directly into the gravity shells of the three stars that made up their home.

Checks and rechecks proved beyond all doubt that the Tau'ri had been tell the truth about the range of their co-ordinates. The two ships had made it to the Cyrannus system in a single long range jump. It was frightening proof that the Tau'ri's own navigational computers were far in advance beyond anything that Colonial technology could comprehend. Indeed they had already picked up a number of transmissions from local Battlestar groups on the borders as well as the pulse from the Caprica subspace beacon, the single most important piece of hardware, an incredible scientific and technological breakthrough, in use by the Colonial Fleet designed and built between the Cylon wars and the current conflict with the Tau'ri. It allowed exact navigational information the thousands of Colonial warships and the many millions of civilians that made up the wholly impressive economy of the twelve colonies.

"Status."

"Ship has jumped Bill. We've got a DRADIS fix on the area," Tigh responded

"Scan the communications frequencies, get me an exact location."

"On it, sir." Gaeta replied. "I'm getting a few low level civilian transmissions most are years old, but I've got one strong regular signal."

"Identify."

"Got it sir, Caprica Command and Control Beacon One Alpha," the ship's comms officer replied. "Strong signal from the beacon on a direct zero course."

"Confirmed, sir." Gaeta began. "The other ship completed the jump with us." He paused looking at his readouts, "Its IFF beacon is active and it started up as soon out ships were able to recognise the beacon."

"And?"

"She's the Relentless, Battlestar Group Thirty Nine."

"Understood Mr Gaeta." Bill sighed. "It worked Saul."

"I noticed." His exec said., "Our FTL drives show some strain but no more than a couple of quick jumps would have shown. We jumped thousands of light years using one set of co-ordinates Bill. That's supposed to be impossible."

"It seems we were wrong." Now Adama sighed, "They could jump right within our defences and we'd never know they were coming. Something tells me you are gonna remind me of this in the future."

"Why the frak did the government send us out there? Waste, waste and more frakking waste." Saul replied. "So what now?"

"Now we get back to Caprica and get these people home," Adama said. "Ensign Gaeta."

"Sir."

"Did the Tau'ri programming at any time come into contact with the main computers?"

"No Sir, the entire program was entered by hand." Gaeta looked at his screens, "The Co-ordinate strings were as basic as they could be made, and the original is under lock in the armoury. I took the liberty of having it isolated in one of the empty warhead lockers, as far as we can tell there's no transmission coming from it."

"Good, input jump information and get us to the Caprica Quarantine grid." Bill ordered. "Stand down all offensive stations and secure the weapons to manual control. I don't want to risk a Cylon type take over."

"Think they could have sent someone across when we were in their space?"

"O'Neill had me taken off this ship with an energy beam, Saul. They could have put anyone on board and we'd never know about it." Adama looked up at the DRADIS screen. "They could throw us back in as a 'Honorious bluff'."

"That woulda worked with some of the other ships Bill, but this thing had its networks axed as soon as you came on board. The crap the Cylons pulled with the Honourious won't happen here."

"Probably, but I saw that ship and I'm damned if I'm going to let that happen again," Tigh smirked. "But why bother, they could have just taken us prisoner and rammed this thing into Caprica station filled with those frakking nukes of theirs."

"Honorious Bluff, sir?" One junior officer asked.

"The Battlecruiser Honourious was boarded four years into the war and then released," Gaeta told the officer. "The ship was returned to Picon Anchorage with crew still aboard and as soon as they were close enough to the shipyards the entire ship's missile and main batteries came online. Nukes and cannons shattered every ship and station in range before the Battlestars assigned there destroyed it. Nine cruisers and escorts were lost as were three of the Battlestar scale drydocks, their crews and the crew of the Honorious itself were killed to a man. When the search and rescue crews got aboard the wreckage they found out why."

"The crews had been tortured and physically nailed into their chairs so we would pick up their life signs but there was no way to stop the ship. Others had been dismembered and left on the floor with their wounds burnt shut to keep them alive but at their positions. That was the last time during that war that any networked weapons were used. Everything from then on were manually controlled." Adama replied, "I was on the original Anchorage at the time, the devastation was unbelievable."

Shaking himself from his memories, Adama ordered the ship to condition two bringing everyone back to attentions and within moments all sections had followed his orders. Both Colonial warships turned slowly pointing their noses towards the mass of stars that made up the inner part of their home sector, three stars mutually orbiting the others. Power pumped through the massive ships' conduits sending them hurtling back towards its home anchorage.

– Caprica.

_**Caprica Defence Command Station**_

_**Caprican Orbit**_

_**Cyrannus System**_

High above the planet of Caprica the Defence Command Station had been designed and built as the ultimate deterrent against an attack by the other colonies. During the Cylon war she had been upgraded then retrofit to prevent the use of her weapons against the world she orbited or the ships that were part of her mobile defence. As the lynchpin of the planet's defence it was centred above the capital city and the home of the Quorum of Twelve. Tens of thousand of personnel roamed her corridors repairing and refitting what was needed or sitting at their posts awaiting the order to fire at anything that came into their airspace.

"Unscheduled FTL Event."

"Condition One." General Evans shouted across the breadth of his command station. Since the attacks on both Picon and Caprica his command had been on the edge of Condition one at all times. The fact that the Tau'ri could have attacked the Colonies at any time had meant that the defence forces and the fleet proper had been on continuous alert for months on end. Now for the first time they had both the warning and the time to be ready in case this was an attack of some kind.

"Status."

"All weapons report ready, automatic point defence cannons are active. Heavy KEWs are tracking the incoming ship, scans are resolving now." A junior lieutenant called across the room, "IFF is acknowledging one Class Three Battlestar and one Class Five Heavy Cruiser, Identification… that can't be right."

"What is it?" the General barked.

"The IFF for the Battlestar is the Valkyrie, sir." She looked shocked. "Warbook confirms Valkyrie currently on long duration classified mission. The ship commander is Admiral William Adama. Estimated return should be," she turned to look at the general, "six weeks from now."

"The other ship?"

"Class Five Cruiser, the Relentless Sir."

"The Relentless?" Evans' eyebrows rose. "Warbook status?"

"She was lost in action," the young woman- Hackett replied. "She was an escort for a Missile Cruiser flight… with Crusade Fleet. Reports say she was crippled and taken prisoner by the Tau'ri a year ago."

"Lock all weapons on those ships."

"Yes, sir!"

All across the station's surface, massive kinetic weapons locked onto the incoming ships. Their multi-ton armour piercing rounds loaded into breaches as the turrets turned towards the suspect signals. A half dozen missile batteries slid open uncapping their warheads both anti ship and anti fighter. Point defence cannons, already targeting the vessels now stood on lock on, their barrels spinning silently in the vacuum. Two ships that otherwise would be welcomed to dock at Caprica's most powerful and capable space station slid to a stop well inside the station's optimum weapons range. Wisely, their own weapons were masked and powered down.

"Battlestar and Cruiser are not reciprocating target of weaponry, sir their viper bays are dark as are their main weapons," Hackett said. "Communication bands are active between the two ships. We're receiving a hail from the Valkyrie, claims to be from Valkyrie Actual, Admiral Adama."

"Divert it to the stand alone communication system, Lieutenant."

"Aye, sir."

Crossing to another set of consoles, Hackett bypassed the security lockouts on the main system and rerouted the communications channels directly into a completely isolated section of the command centre, a throwback from the Cylon war that hadn't been removed during the refits over the years. More than one admiral had done that to their commands since that conflict even returning parts of their ships to the pre-networked status after their own refits although that was something that was becoming more difficult to do as the newer ships were constructed using fewer and fewer manual systems.

The transmission played over the decades old consoles, its stand alone systems forcing the manual input of codes to allow the station's CO to open the channel. Finally after a few minutes the channel was opened completely. Evans slapped down on the microphones 'on' switch and demanded the ship's identification and authentication codes. Seconds ticked by as the two linked systems threw the information back and forth.

"Identification authenticated. Battlestar Valkyrie, Actual is on the horn."

"This is Evans, what the hell are you doing jumping into this zone Adama."

"_You wouldn't believe me if I told you."_ The gravelly voice of the ship's Commander echoed over the channel_. "I need docking permissions for both of our ships and an immediate channel to Intelligence Command."_

"Adama you are in violation of jump protocol and you have a frakking heavy cruiser that was lost against Earth. None of you are going anywhere except the quarantine station on the far side of the moons."

"_We don't have the time for that, Evans. We have information needed and requested by the Admiralty and the ship with us is full of survivors from the attack on Earth. Now give me the damned permission or I'll go over your head straight to Corman."_

"Then go to Corman, but you are going nowhere except to Quarantine."

Evans could all but see the Battlestar Commander's jaw clench as he ground his teeth. Adama and his ship might be a necessary evil but he had to follow the rules like anyone else would, considering the location they claimed to have come from. Three years and a dozen battles against the Cylons had bloodied the General. His paranoia and careful following of the necessary rules made him the ideal man to command the crux of Caprica's defence systems. The fact that the Army now controlled the near space defences just sweetened the fact.

"_Understood Caprica Command, request an immediate communication with Admiral Corman's office as soon as we enter the Quarantine bays. Valkyrie has information vital to the security of the Colonies themselves."_ He heard Adama sigh. _"This is as important as anything else we have to continue this war, General."_

"Nothing is that important Admiral, nothing worth breaking quarantine and blockade for," Evans replied. "You are more than six weeks ahead of schedule according to your orders, did you even complete you mission?"

"_I'll pretend you didn't just call me a coward, General."_ Adama's voice was heated_. "The intelligence we have is that damned important that I'm willing to blow a hole through the defence perimeter to get it to Corman's office. Now get off your frakking ass and get Corman up here."_

"Very well, Adama. We'll give you the rope to hang yourself with but understand that if you even try to leave the Quarantine Zone then you will be blown out of the sky orders or not. Are you clear on this?"

"_Completely clear Evans,"_ Adama growled_. "All too clear." _

_**USAF Odyssey**_

_**Daedalus Class Battlecruiser**_

The Odyssey sat alone as she drifted through the void between stars. The damage sustained against the twin hive ships and their escorts had crippled the warship leading to the evacuation of more than half of the ship's crew by the other vessels. The remaining crew worked day and night to repair the ship enough to get home. With the approaching Wraith ships there was no way for reinforcements to make it to them in time.

Due to the severe depletion of the crew through combat the engineers had been salvaging everything possible to rebuild their systems. Shields and weapons had been scrapped in an attempt to bring the hyperdrive and primary systems on line at the risk of damage to the ship's main hull.

"That's it, Colonel. The next time we jump the engines will fry." Doctor Rodney McKay pushed the crystal tray shut. "I've rebuilt the scanners to emit a low level subspace field to reduce stress on the hull, stripped out half a dozen circuits from the missile systems and railguns to replace those that burned out in the shield grids. I got them working well enough to get us to actually move without taking micrometeor fragments to the hull. I also managed to close the hanger doors, but they won't be opening again in a hurry."

"So no fighters and no weapons at all."

"It's 'have weapons' or shields and engines. That's your choice, Colonel."

"How far can we get?" Emerson sighed.

"As far as we need to but, the second we shut the hyperdrive down, the entire hyperspace array will burn out."

"Shit, nothing else?" Emerson asked.

"I've rebuilt a crippled engine from spare parts and half a dozen of those parts aren't even remotely tied into the engines and wouldn't be if anyone has any sense, but considering there's nothing else we can do then I'm going to say that we're as well off as anyone can be."

"Alright Doctor McKay, calm down."

"I'm as calm as anyone can be after being shot at, locked up, shot again and almost fed on. SHOT AT BY MY OWN SIDE! Then I spent weeks repairing a broken down ship with half its systems destroyed or on the verge of collapse. I'm tired, I'm hungry, I'm pissed off and if I get this wrong, we're very dead. So, yes I'm as calm as can be expected!"

"Understood Doctor, are we ready to go?"

"Yes, yes... just input a direct course and we'll be there within a few hours but the second we drop out of hyperspace…."

"I know, I know. Bang goes the engines."

"Now if you'll excuse me I'm getting some food and some rest before we get back because God knows what I'm going to be asked about when we arrive."

"Thank you, Doctor. We appreciate the help."

"Your people saved us Colonel, just returning the favour," Rodney muttered. "Now I need a sandwich."

The Canadian Scientist walked down the corridor into the commissary before grabbing a half dozen plates and two cups of coffee, barely noticing as the ship's PA echoed the countdown to hyperspace behind him. Minutes later, the cranky astrophysicist found himself face down in his pillowed arms; asleep and his food forgotten at his side, as the humming vessel cruised through hyperspace towards home.

_**BBC Newsflash**_

"Reports have come in of the successful arrival of the last of the damaged ships belonging to the fleet that intercepted a group of alien ships two weeks ago. The USAF Odyssey although critically damaged, has been able to make its way back to the solar system with its remaining crew. We go now live to the orbiting defence station where the Daedalus Class vessel has begun docking procedures; Hew Edwards is awaiting confirmation of its condition."

"_Thank you. The USAF Odyssey entered Earth space approximately five minutes ago and is currently pulling into dock aboard the Earth Defence Station Alexander. From here we can see that the American warship was struggling to make its way to the station's main doc. Early indications are that the majority of their propulsion engines are disabled and more than half of the ship's many operating systems are down. The arrival of the ship was immediately intercepted by her sisters, the Russian starship Korolev and the British ship Ajax. The majority of the crew were transported off of the Odyssey and returned to Earth for medical assistance within moments of their return."_

The picture changed to an external view of the station. The Odyssey, burnt, cracked and broken, shuddered to a stop as it's main engines shut off leaving them drifting towards the former Battlestar turned Battlestation. Small gantries swung out from the armoured pod locking onto the crippled warships sealing it against the fitted umbilicals, pumping air and power into the Odyssey's hull. Lights flickered off as the last of the indigenous systems shut off leaving the vessel dark.

"_As you can see by the pictures from the station's external cameras the Odyssey was badly damaged by an attack that saved the lives of the crew of the allied Battlestar New Horizon and early indications from the ship's remaining crew is that the warship should be salvageable. The names of the lost crew have been withheld until the families of the lost crew give their permission for their release."_

The scene changed one again as pre-recorded film replaced the damaged ship. The Odyssey was seen firing at Colonial ships leading the charge against the far larger ships while other ships followed them in. A cut to missions to other worlds and other battles where the Earth ships took down enemy vessels en masse including footage of the Wraith ship firing on the disabled Battlestar before the far smaller Daedalus took the brunt of the impact. The last footage was a beauty shot of the vessel taking off from its underground cradle in Arizona. Non-classified film of the interior of the ship and its crew were shown repairing damage caused to the ship in one battle or another.

"_The last of the crew headed by the ship's American Commander Colonel Paul Emerson and temporary chief engineer Canadian Astrophysicist Doctor Rodney McKay both attached to the Earth Defence Force and the Office of Homeworld Security respectively have managed to jury rig their propulsion system to bring them back home. Indications are that entire engine system shorted out and imploded once the vessel arrived back in the sol system" _To the side of the screen two photos of the named men appeared with their names and positions_. "Damage caused to the ship had led to the vessel's incapacitation and the forced abandonment by three quarters of the crew to the accompanying ships of the attack group. Released documents by Earth fleet command has expressed the relief of their fellow ship crews at the return of the Odyssey, its remaining crew as well as the scientists and engineers ferried to the Odyssey in its time of crisis."_

"_The survivors of the crew will be kept under observation by the medical teams already aboard Alexander before being allowed to return home. The Odyssey however even with the damage accumulated during its all too brief tour of duty will be returned to the surface of the planet to undergo a complete rebuild and upgrade. This is Hew Edwards BBC News, Defence Station Alexander."_

"They made it back."

Jack O'Neill looked across at his XO. "The Odyssey has lost its main hyperdrive systems. The entire ship will have to be stripped and rebuilt.

"It'll put back the construction of the rest of the Daedalus class if we do. Three ships are near completion and the supplies used to repair the Odyssey will need diverting from them." Davis sighed. "But putting the Odyssey back together will be a morale boost to the rest of the fleet."

"Considering the state of the fleet's morale when the IOA screwed us…." The General let the sentence hang.

The Odyssey's return while fortuitous meant that the IOA would demand that the wolf pack begin attacks immediately. For most of them a ship returned was a ship that the fleet could use and damn the fact that it was in worse condition than any of the rest were. The return to duty of the rest of the fleet had already improved their standing and then some. But with another sixteen ships being deployed elsewhere as soon as they were ready had angered the fleet; their commanders and the entire defence set up for the planet, and the politicians weren't listening.

"So do we rebuild her or finish the three ships we have almost ready?"

"I gotta make a call."

_**British Naval Fleet Yards **_

_**Prometheus Class Dockyard**_

_**Falkland Islands**_

_**South Atlantic.**_

Commodore William Franks sat in his office sorting through the myriad of reports that his position inevitably had foist upon him. For several hours he had been comparing and rewriting orders to keep the production of the Royal Navy's fledgling space fleet going. With the slight glut in control crystals and computer systems because of the overproduction by the Americans he had been able to keep the two prototypes schedule on time and without too many problems.

The earlier problem of the inferior hull plating had plagued the production of these ships as well, forcing him to have them recast What he wasn't expecting was for a three dimensional hologram of one of his few superior officers to appear in front of his desk. He grimaced slightly as he slammed his knee into the side of his desk.

"So much for the irrepressible British upper lip, Bill."

"How many times did the Asgard do that to you before you got used to it Jack?"

"Now, now. I'm here on a mission."

"Very well, how can I help you. Lieutenant General?"

"Ok, not that Formal."

"Alright, General O'Neill."

"Dammit, Bill. Fine - Jack, just Jack."

"Very well, Jack."

"Forget it, just forget it." O'Neill looked up realising he'd been played, "Hammond?"

"Yep."

"Smart old man." Jack smirked. "I need a favour, Bill.""

"Not a penny."

"Haha," Jack deadpanned. "The Odyssey arrived back earlier on today and, well to be honest, she's a mess."

"I saw The Crucible sent out a full download of everything that's in pieces. I'm surprised she's still running."

"Yeah, about that."

Franks sighed again. If things weren't bad enough he could already guess what they needed from the Royal Navy and if things went the way they had been then O'Neill and the fleet commanders would get what they wanted.

"When?"

"As soon as we get her groundside."

"The Daedalus Dock is empty here as we've finished resupplying the Ajax and haven't begun the construction of the Renown." Franks called up a list. "The majority of what was needed for the Exeter is already on station. Sir, as much as you are head of Homeworld Security, I will have to clear this with the Prime Minister and the Naval Chiefs back home."

"Yeah, I know. But hey, at least you get a warning usually someone just up and tell us to do it."

"True enough," Franks said. "Poker on Friday?"

"Got the beer?"

"Yep."

"Then we're on."


	22. Chapter Twenty

_**Chapter 20**_

_**Battlestar Pegasus**_

_**Mercury Class Battlestar**_

_**Deep Space**_

Helena Cain was not pleased with the lack of progress that her crew were having with the newly discovered alien ship. More than a fortnight had passed and yet nothing of substance seemed to have been garnered from the craft. Stepping into the makeshift hanger, the Admiral walked across the dented and scarred deck plates several of which were still being hammered and welded back into position.

"Chief?"

"Admiral."

The deck chief looked up from her work. Dressed in the usual orange engineer jump suit and boots Teresa Hamilton was the head of the remaining hanger bay knuckle-draggers.

"Report."

"We've begun testing on the material that the alien ship's made of but… well whatever its made of it's stronger than most of the stuff we use to armour our raptors and assault ships." Cain frowned at the technicians words who continued on unworried at her commander's thoughts. "We can cut parts off easy enough but it takes cutters and drill bits six times longer than the titanium alloys we use. I've lost three tipped bits and burnt out a plasma cutter trying to get a piece off to analyse properly."

"It's that heavy?"

"It's not heavy it's just damned strong. A hundred times that of basic steel, ten times that of the same thickness of Battlestar armour. I'm willing to bet this is the same alloy that the Thirteeners use to cover their ships, if not build the entire things out of it." She gestured to the wall. "We took that piece down to the range, emptied everything we have into it at close range and nothing. A Cylon phalanx would go down under the punishment this one piece took."

Two pieces of metal were hung suspended from the rafters one was the familiar dull colour of a Raptor hull while the other was the slightly brighter and pitted hull of the alien ship. The Raptor plate was cracked and bent as evidence of the incredible amount of punishment that the metal had gone through. The other piece was scorched and slightly bent but was otherwise completely intact. Approaching the plate Cain pulled a knife from her pocket before flipping it open.

Tapping the metal with the edge of her knife, Cain listened as it rang slightly. The piece was incredibly thin for the damage it had supposedly taken. It more than explained why the Tau'ri were able to fend off attacks on their ships so easily even without their shielding. If the Prometheus had been made of the same alloys then it was no wonder that an entire Battlestar group had been unable to hold her.

If they could somehow manage to engineer the metal themselves then the Tau'ri would find their Battlestars more than a threat even against their shields and energy weapons. Now they needed to find out what the rest of the ship was made of and how she could use it for her own purposes.

"Can we replicate it?"

"To be honest, I don't know what it's made of and without access to proper facilities back home, there's no way for us to figure it out. The same goes for everything else we've seen, computers run by crystals. We can't find a fuel source except what seems to be a block of black metal in their reactor. Those bombs we found are dead or unpowered. The cannons were scavenged to the extent that I can't make heads or tails of what goes where."

"Anything else?"

"Well, we've now got some indication of their FTL and sublight engines. Neither is what we would call an engine in our terms. The cub light has no emission systems, no combustion chambers and no normal fuel just like the FTL."

"That black block of metal?" she queried.

"Both sets of engines seem to run off of whatever that generator is I'm about to test a shaving from the block," Teresa replied. "Would you care to watch?"

"Alright."

Heading across the bay the two women walked up to the far end. A large enclosure had been built into one of the blown out sections. Unable to repair the machine shop that had been there the entire section had been ripped out and replaced by what could only be described as a combination of science lab, repair bay and a mad scientist's wet dream. At the far end an electrical system was set up surrounded by blast shields; a small sliver of a black material was suspended by cables in the air above the table.

"That piece took a point black hit from cannon to break off. It's even stronger than the hull material and that piece is almost as heavy as that entire table."

"Just how frakking heavy is the entire block?"

"It dented the floor when we dropped it out the ship," the Chief replied. "Alright people, first test, clear the area."

Hitting a switch, the apparatus started up sending energy through the shard of metal. A split second later the output exploded into fragments peppering the safety perimeter and causing the technicians to hit the deck. An emergency cut off separated the power cables from the small generator on the ground.

"What in the gods' name was that?" Cain demanded.

"I don't know, sir. I've never seen anything like that."

The Chief carefully moved across the perimeter looking through the blast shields into the testing area. Pieces of the equipment were scattered throughout the room. Electrical burns dotted the plastic and metal screens with blown components smashed against the walls.

"Chief, we had a reading for about half a second before it went up."

"What was it?"

"Three Thousand."

"What?"

"Chief?"

"Sir, we put thirty into the damn thing it sent back out one hundred times what was put in." Teresa shook. "That should be impossible."

"A hundred times?"

"Yes, sir. The calibration for the equipment could have taken the full brunt of a viper's energy output if put through slow enough. That shard blew the settings out the window. That block could run this entire ship and then some Admiral."

Cain was astounded by the pure power that such a small amount of the material could deliver with a small jolt. Any higher and there would have been pieces of the bulkhead scorched by the energy burst. If this was the same material that the Thirteeners ran their ships on then it explained the speeds that they could attain not to mention those powerful energy fields that had stopped their nukes dead.

"Sir, we need to get this stuff back to the Colonies. They have to know what we've found."

"I know," Cain replied. "Chief if we used this material in our FTL would it work?"

"Admiral, I don't know. A small amount could theoretically run our FTL drives but there wouldn't be any need as we run the power up as fast as the coils can absorb it. It's why we don't use anything more powerful to run the main engines, there's just no need," Teresa replied. "Right now it could be useful if we wanted to overpower our main cannons or to increase our sublight speed, but that's it."

Cain frowned at the news but it had been a long shot and one she knew might not have worked.

"Alright chief, get back to the engines. I'm going to order multiple long range FTL jumps. It's time we went home."

_**Personal Quarters-Officer Commanding**_

'_**The Crucible'-Homeworld Security Command Centre**_

_**Nevada**_

It took a while but Jack had finally managed to get a break away from the conferences, meetings, and briefings that took up his time throughout the days at The Crucible. Material for warships had become scarce yet again as the commissioning of more ships into the fleet. Personnel issues for once, were the least of his problems. One request had been to allow the local 'defence ships' otherwise known as his entire Daedalus fleet, to scrape up debris from near Earth orbit. Several of the bigger brains in planetary defence structure had informed him of the billions of tons of material that were drifting around near Earth orbit.

Given he was directly responsible for two of the three battles that had left the stuff up there he had figured that he could at least get rid of the debris before it caused any real problems, more materials meant more chances of getting the fleet up and running. He'd order someone at the shipyards or R&D to figure something out tomorrow, that out of his mind Jack had turned over in his bed and dozed off.

Jack O'Neill had usually been a happy sleeper, his time away from work or combat usually lead to him passing out on the sofa or the bed depending how much he could be bothered to walk to the bedroom. After the last few days Jack had taken a well deserved day off to recover from the visits to the solar system from a hive ship and a Colonial Battlestar both of which had been expected but were more than slightly strange for the people involved.

This was the reason why the ringing phone six inches from his head next to the couch soured his mood. Waking him from a very nice dream involving beaches, tequila and half dozen women in different attires was not a welcomed thing. He was though slightly disturbed to realise his subconscious had decided one would be dressed as a Nox in a cloth sack. Groaning, he pulled the handset from the receiver.

"Sir?" the voice came from the phone in his hand.

O'Neill scrubbed his face with his hand before looking over at the clock on the wall, squinting against the light of the digital numbers he groaned and lay back down. "Carter, its four AM on my very wanted single day off in the last six months. There better be a damn good reason why I'm not still asleep."

"You might want to sit down, sir."

"I'm lying down on my couch Carter." O'Neill's fatigue began to ebb away at the tone of his former XO. "What's going on?"

"I just got a call from the SGC." She hesitated. "Sir… Jack, General Hammond passed away last night."

"What?" He shot up from his reclined position. "When?"

"He was visiting his grandkids at the Springs and they all found him this morning. He had a heart attack last night in his sleep. He didn't wake up." Sam Carter's voice hitched slightly. "They contacted the SGC because I'm down here helping with the new Gate protocols. His daughter wanted to get hold of you but couldn't get through to the Crucible."

"Alright, I'll be down there as soon as I can. What about…"

"Daniel and Teal'c are both offworld at Chulak and Tollana. I've sent messages to both to come back as soon as possible. Both Jonas and Cassie are on base anyway. General Landry has already informed the SGC and off world bases. It'll be in the news tomorrow morning."

"Ok, I'll be there soon, Sam."

"Please Jack, hurry."

_**Earth Defence Station Hannibal**_

_**Formally Colonial Battlestar War Hawk**_

_**Lunar Orbit**_

The loading docks were filled almost beyond capacity as forklifts and trucks dashed to and fro, dropping tons upon tons of material into the cavernous bays of the former Colonial warship. Supplies, ammunition, weapons and equipment, in fact anything that could be donated or acquired by the IOA was being stacked and tied down in amounts that would choke an entire armoured division.

With the changes in doctrine by the IOA in regards to the deployment and use of ground forces assigned to the space-going arm of the defence forces, the combined militaries had begun training their special ops groups as motorised infantry, but only to a certain extent. That extent included the use of jeeps and Humvees from the United States, Land Rovers and Warrior APCs from the United Kingdom and a number of motorcycles from the Japanese Self-Defence Force. Those units that had not been deployed for use by Stargate Command, and the Icarus and her sisters were now being transferred to Atlantis as the core of its new recon groups.

Seventy men of the new military contingent would be placed there purely for mounted reconnaissance allowing follow up teams of diplomats, scientists and traders to meet with the other cultures that they might find. Once the militaries of the world realised the fact that they would either use the Stargate (for those in the know) or the warships (for those that didn't) for exploration, they would learn that a few men on foot was not the greatest of ideas. So with the safety and time frames of their trips in mind, most decided to refit a few vehicles for offworld use.

Most vehicles were now equipped with a micro-naquada generator to replace their engines, built using a very small amount of the precious super-conductive material left over from construction of the warships. Due to the fact that it was built to move a small vehicle and its contents it wasn't as large or as powerful as the Mk 1 and 2 generators used for dialling Stargates. Of course, the problem was usually that this usually caused the SG teams to get into even more trouble than they usually did and far more quickly.

A flash of light appeared at the receiving point for the supplies coming directly from Earth deposited there from the Asgard transporter. One figure looked placid and calm, whilst the other looked harried and flustered.

"That was it sixteen hours. That's all the sleep you gave me. I spend two weeks keeping that damn ship together and before that a week as a prisoner of the Wraith and before that two damned years keeping that floating death-trap from killing everyone aboard. You could at least have given me a couple of days before pulling me back to whatever hair-brained scheme that you people have…" McKay's ramble stopped as he looked around. "That's a lot of supplies."

Carl Grogan formerly of Stargate Command walked alongside the cranky physicist. Somehow he'd drawn the short straw in dealing with Rodney McKay. He already suspected it was because of his experience dealing with slightly ego driven scientists combined with the fact that he alone among the former SG team members heading for Atlantis could actually talk to people like McKay and not want to shoot him on sight.

"We're sending this ship and as much as we can fit inside it to Atlantis. Originally we were going to use one of their destroyers, but we've decided to use one of their mid sized Class Three Olympia Class Battlestars instead," the young officer replied.

"Class Three?"

"We know that Atlantis is a little out of the loop at the moment but we're sending all the Intel and information that we have with this ship. She's been refit with surplus shield generators, new inertial dampners and improved the armament with those new Lucifer rounds and a lot more naquada enhanced nukes." Grogan looked over the supplies as they walked. "She was designated as another one of the defence stations for Earth, but we've managed to persuade the IOA to equip her and send her to Atlantis instead," His escort replied. "She's a little over a kilometre long and armed with a lot of state of the art weaponry. We're carrying almost three quarters of the available ammo for the fleet on this trip."

"The shielding and dampeners should keep her from falling apart when we get her into hyperspace, but she's not going to be able to get there herself anytime soon," Rodney said. "I've seen specs on their FTL drive and even with the best computers we have, there's no way to jump her across to Pegasus with her current fuel load. The Daedalus won't be able to pull her along on her own."

"She won't be. The O'Neill is pulling both the Daedalus and Hannibal to Pegasus when we're ready."

"Why the hell didn't they do that last year when we needed the help?"

"The war with the replicators mainly, looking after the PPT planets as well."

"Why the Daedalus?"

"Some of the people of Atlantis are being recalled back home. Others of their crew are being transferred to the new base we're building. They're also dropping off their entire air wing and the contents of their own supply bunkers and anything else we could drop in. Some of the crew of the Hannibal are also coming back so we're using one of our ships to bring them home when the Asgard leave."

"So what have we got on board?"

"The Hannibal is armed and nasty enough to take on a couple of Wraith Cruisers and eat a Ha'tak for desert. She's carrying its crew and fighter compliment, reinforcements for the 302 wing on Atlantis aboard the Daedalus and more troops and scientists to help with the exploration of the city. She also be carrying a half dozen exploration teams and the new recon section."

"Great, more newbies."

"Yeah, the recon section seems to be working on board the ship. A bunch of guys on bikes and jeeps riding through the gate will get out further than we ever could on foot. I'm leading one of the teams when we get out there."

Heading into the former hanger bay proper Rodney began to mentally catalogue everything that they passed through. Tons of food and beverages of all kinds were spread out left to right, up and down stretching hundreds or meters across and dozens to the rafters of the vessel. Rodney frowned at the sight of the still intact viper tubes. Surely they should have been ripped out and the hull sealed against the outside like the Alexander's had been. Turning back, he watched as more vehicles and equipment were strapped down underneath the towering boxes and containers above. He nodded approvingly as he stared at some of the smaller recon vehicles.

"Less walking on the other side of the gate at least," he mused. "Why the hell do we still have those fighter tubes there? The Alexander had hers ripped out for ammunition storage."

"The Viper tubes? Well, that's something that one of the engineers on the 302's R&D group came up with; we're carrying two full squadrons of refitted Colonial fighters for delivery to Atlantis as well."

"What why are we doing that?"

"Couple of reasons Doc. They are fast, close range fighters and can out turn anything the Wraith can hit us with. Since they have better guns than the old 302s and we don't have to pay for them. Best of all, they fit through the stargate so we can send them ahead of those puddle jumpers you got. Well, those that you got left anyway."

"Yes I remember. Half the remaining jumpers are sitting at Antarctica."

"Most are going back on the Daedalus."

"Good for us," McKay snared. "So air support and vehicles going through the gate; brilliant ideas a few years too damned late."

"It's worse than that."

"What is?"

"There's a British TV show that wants to try out our new vehicles off planet."

"You're joking."

"Not this time, Doctor McKay." Grogan shook his head. "The IOA might even be considering it as a PR move to get people on our side. The American and British ambassadors are huge fans of the series. Even General O'Neill likes what they do."

"That is a very bad idea." Rodney changed the subject. "The supplies, how much are we looking at here?"

"You guys got what three hundred people on Atlantis at the moment?" Grogan asked. At Rodney's nod he continued. "We've got five hundred more coming on the battle station not including the crew of the ship which numbers almost two thousand. The supplies in these pods are enough for a thousand people on planet for three years and the Hannibal carries its own supplies which will last about the same amount of time. Hell, Doctor Jackson and General Carter grabbed one of the main cargo bays and filled it to the max with coffee and tea."

"Coffee," Rodney's eyes widened.

"Yep and a load of plants. They're building a base on the mainland for the recon teams and the rest of the people who don't want to stay on the city. The crew of the Hannibal we'll need somewhere to stay as well."

"Who came up with all of this?" Rodney asked as his eyes widened at what couldn't have been less than a full metric ton of Hershey bars and God knows how many corn puffs. _Three year's worth?_ "People will try to get through that in three weeks let alone years. The supplies they got from the two monthly runs from the Daedalus was barely enough but the size of this Battlestar. The supplies you people are fitting in must be immense."

"Every country with people involved in the IOA, or Atlantis threw in a budgetary requirement for their people and more. Besides, to be honest Doc, the IOA tried to get the donations diverted into construction of the planetary defences and have Atlantis survive on normal rations." He gestured to the MRE ration packs that took up an entire section of the hanger bay. "General O'Neill had them served nothing but MREs for a week before they finally gave up."

"Cruel and unusual punishment." That thought made McKay smirk. One thing he loved were with those MRE ration packs. Well, he wasn't like most people anyway.

"Just don't tell the press someone will try to call him up on war crimes for it."

Grogan and McKay continued walking through the massive bay towards the far end, passing by dozens of crewmen pushing or pulling boxes, pallets and sacks into huge cages latched to the walls. Machine shops and supply bunkers for the ship's original fighter compliment had been filled to capacity and sealed.

Stepping around a corner Rodney was forced to roll himself away from a bustling crowd of crewmembers fussing over an injured man on a gurney. A younger blonde woman almost fell over him causing McKay to grab her before she hit the floor. Quickly saying thanks, she smiled up at him as they passed by before disappearing around the corner. McKay blinked slightly before shaking his head and continuing on ignoring the smirking Captain.

"So what exactly are we getting?" McKay asked again attempting to mask his embarrassment with pseudo-irritation.

"Well, apart from what you know a load of new science equipment. A new mainframe system that should be compatible with the Atlantis system at least according to my wife anyway. Then we've got those Naquada reactors someone ripped out of the Prometheus and replaced with something better. More weapons and explosive including an Mk9 warhead as a self – destruct for the city."

"ARE THEY CRAZY?" shouted Rodney. "Putting one of those things in the city is bad news for everyone involved. I helped design the damn thing and we are not putting it in the city. Hell, putting one in orbit would make me think twice about going near Atlantis."

"Orders are orders."

"And which psychotic dictator with delusions of grandeur decided that putting a multi hundred gigaton warhead in an ancient city was every a good idea?"

"It was General O'Neill's idea. He figured we needed to blow the crap out of the city instead of letting anyone else get at it."

"I'm not in the slightest bit surprised at that," McKay sighed. "So people, weapons, food, drink, medical supplies, vehicles and a big ass warship to defend the city. Wait! What reactors?"

"The Prometheus had hers pulled during the last refit and replaced with something better. No-one could figure out what to do with it so it's going to Atlantis. Someone's gonna plug it into the city," the young captain replied. "Well, that someone probably being my wife."

"Who the hell is your wife anyway?"

"Captain Jennifer Haley, sir."

"Tiny, blonde, ego, skin of a rhino hide?"

"That's her, sir."

"Huh, a mini-Sam if ever there was one."

"Better not let her hear you say that, Doctor McKay. Someone on SG-6 said that in hearing range and it took them a week to find his records. A week in the SGC's brig isn't something anyone would recommend," Grogan smirked. "Apart from that, we've rebuilt this thing to produce spares for both its own hull and the fighters. We'd have used one of their really big ships but we didn't have the time to fix her up."

"Better than nothing," Rodney said. With the space that might still be available he'd be able to use his not too inconsiderable fortune to bring a few things he really wanted from home with him. Time away from home meant that most of the people of the expedition had a nice sized nest egg. A few patents and papers had been discreetly added to his own and in ever increasing amounts. "How much stuff can the staff members take with them?"

"Its gonna be three years until we can get anyone else out there, Doc. They've pretty much said bring what you like. I'm bringing my dogs as well. Hell I'm living on the mainland with most of the rest of the recon teams."

"Animals?"

"Pets mainly but I think… hey, Dennis." He waved over the closest of the techs.

"Grogan, what's up?" the man with the accent asked.

"Dennis, Doctor Rodney McKay. Doc, this is Dennis Kruger."

"Nice ta meet ya, boss." Dennis's South African accent was slightly more pronounced this time. "What can I do fur' ya."

"Animals, we still taking them?"

"What? the pets or the farm stock?"

"Both."

"Well a shitload of pets are going with us but the majority o' the livestock are cows, chickens and the like. We've got crops and feed for them as well. We're going to try to get a real colony going on the Lantea mainland." Kruger shrugged. "Horses as well, we're gonna try to introduce some local animals to Pegasus and see if they take."

"So animals for breeding and fresh food."

"Three years is a long time to live on processed and packaged crap boss."

"I like that packaged crap," McKay replied getting annoyed. "I…"

"_Captain Grogan to the CIC, Doctor McKay to the CIC, Warrant Officer Siler to the CIC,"_ the Tannoy interrupted.

"Now what?" Rodney grumbled.

_**Combat Information Centre**_

_**EDS Hannibal**_

"Captain, Doctor."

Siler nodded to the two men as he met them on the way through the corridors. The ship whilst being heavily modified still had the look and feel both inside and out of being a Colonial fleet vessel. The entire craft had been cleaned and decontaminated by the combined efforts of several dozen agencies worldwide in order to make it habitable for the new crew. This crew would be a combination of Colonial defectors plus Earth-borne humans which would make up the majority of said crew.

The majority of the modifications to the Hannibal had been to the main systems to enhance the ability of the ship to fight off attacks from the local races of the Milky Way and Pegasus Galaxies. Little thought had been given to the internal ascetics of the Battlestar-turned station. Unsurprisingly it left the entire place looking bare and functional, if battered and used looking. Some of the more esoteric ideas such as glass panelling on the bridge doors had been replaced with heavy metallic plating, while the majority of the controls had been replaced with backwards compatible screen and equipment tying it into the less capable but robust Colonial systems.

Walking into the CIC, the three SGC personnel were intercepted by the ship's commander. Gesturing across to the other side of the room he had them move into an alcove specially set up with a long range subspace communication screen courtesy of the Asgard.

"Sam?" Rodney exclaimed as her face came on the screen only a second before the look on it became apparent. "What is it? What's happened?"

"The SGC just got a message from General Hammond's daughter. He died late last night."

The silence was deafening as the import of those words made it into the minds of the three men. All had been at the SGC during his time in command and all three thought very highly of the Texan. Siler had been there since the beginning and while he had been through five commanding officers in his time with Stargate Command he thought of Hammond as '_the General_' and not simply another ranking officer.

"What happened?"

"He had a heart attack in his sleep Siler. We're contacting every ship, station and outpost in Homeworld Security. The funeral will be held in Washington within the week. We'll be keeping the Daedalus and Hannibal in orbit until afterwards."

"Has anyone told Atlantis yet?" Rodney asked.

"No not yet. I thought you might prefer to do that Rodney. Most of the SGC personnel there served under the General at one time or another."

"I will."

"Anything I can do, sir?" Grogan asked.

"Notify the commander of the Hannibal and ask him to inform his crew. There will be a full day of mourning for the general starting at 12:00 hours. Rodney, I'd like you and Grogan down here as soon as possible. We have work to do."

"We'll be down in a few minutes," Rodney said as the message ended. "Shit."

"I don't believe it." Siler responded, "General Hammond."

"I guess it was just his time. I always thought one of us would go first. No offence guys, I meant my SG team."

"None taken," Siler nodded. "I thought I'd be gone long before he was."

"I guess I better get down to the SGC. There's a lot of people on the city that will want to know about this." Rodney shrugged, "a lot of extremely upset people."

_**Survivor Enclave**_

_**Tollana**_

"All that I know is that a great many enclaves do still exist on this world, while the civilised areas containing much of our population were destroyed from orbit there were smaller towns and villages scattered across the surface. Survivors were able to find their way to those places and hide from any possible follow up using ground forces, we were fortunate that Anubis did not deem it necessary to hunt us down merely to make us all but incapable of living after the fact."

"There were more than twenty million people here. How many survived?"

"That I know of? Close to one hundred thousand possibly more probably less…"

The two old acquaintances had continued to talk for a substantial amount of time after meeting again. It had been more than five years. The Icarus had already begun treating the survivors they had found for easily treatable conditions and illnesses at any other time. Others would have to be diverted to an offworld site where Red Cross teams would be awaiting them. The emergency signal to the SGC had caused the immediate dispatch of an Apollo complete with a salvaged Stargate taken from one of the dead worlds that the SGC had found.

Both had continued talking as Narim was being treated by the onboard chief medical officer and his staff. In the light of the sick bay his wounds looked even more painful and disfiguring. The last of the ruling council of the Tollan Narim was something of a celebrity among those that had been with the SGC before. To the rest he was an ambassador and as such given the rights and dues of his rank.

"… Then of course, we were finally able to send a ship to Tollana to check out what had happened, we weren't expecting to find any kind of survivors let alone as many as we have. To tell the truth some of the politicians we have in the top positions tried to get the mission cancelled The relief missions we're running on our own world has forced us to stop any assistance to other worlds as it is."

"Doctor Jackson," Lt. Colonel Telford interrupted the two as he strode into the room, nodding slightly to the Tollan as he approached. "Mr Narim."

"Colonel Telford, good to see you."

"Colonel, what can we do for you?"

"The bridge just picked up a transmission from Stargate Command with a priority tag direct from the office of General Carter."

"Samantha?" Narim whispered surprised. "General?"

"Yeah she's still with us. As I said a lot has changed in the last few years." Daniel read the message in his hands. It only took a few seconds before the blood ran out of his face leaving him pale and wan. He handed the message to the Tollan before looking at Telford. "When did this come in?"

"About ten minutes ago."

Narim's eyes closed as he read the message. "This is an unfortunate case of affairs. General Hammond was a good and fair man. We owed him much after his willingness to put his people and his own career in the line of fire during our years as friends. I would like to come back with you to Earth to pay my respects as well as to attain aid for the people that still live."

"Are you sure, Narim?" Daniel asked.

"Yes, my people will be able to look after themselves more so now that we know that there is help coming. It's my wish to come with you."

"Colonel?"

"I'll talk to Colonel Young and let you know."

_**Capital City**_

_**Chulak**_

_**Free Jaffa Nation**_

"Tak'ma'te, Master Teal'c Master Bra'tac."

"Tak'Me'Te, CaptainHaley." Teal'c bowed slightly at the approaching diminutive blonde. No one had been expected to arrive from Earth for several more days let alone a single officer without a weapon or the normal offworld pack. "What brings you to our world?"

"I have a message from General Carter." The young officer's voice was steady betraying her body's slight twitch, a combination of slight dread, anxiety and sadness that radiated from her in waves. "It regards General Hammond."

"Then please speak child." Bra'tac urged.

"They… the SGC…." Haley took a deep breath. "General Hammond died last night at his daughter's house in the Springs. He had a heart attack and died in his sleep."

"This is most troublesome," The Jaffa elder replied. "Hammond of Texas was a great warrior. We will return as soon as possible."

"Indeed, he was a good man and commander." He turned to Haley. "Thank you for the message CaptainHaley we will both make the necessary plans to return to Earth, we should not be more than a few hours."

"Do you want me to wait?" she asked.

"That would be gracious of you young one," nodded Bre'tac. We shall take your leave and meet you at the Stargate in two hours."

"Yes, sir," Jennifer smiled weakly. "I'll be there."

_**Asgard**__**Council Chambers**_

_**Orilla**_

_**Ida Galaxy.**_

"Hello, is this thing on?"

"O'Neill." A voice came from behind the hologram. "The Asgard communication system is a delicate device that can pick up far more than any comparable technology, it is as you put it 'on'."

"Oh, well I know that it's a very expensive and advanced toy and that I promised not to use it unless absolutely necessary."

"O'Neill, is there a reason for this communication?" The Asgardian Commander interrupted.

"Uhh, yeah. I don't know if your guys here have been scanning our transmission or anything but well…" Jack prevaricated. "George Hammond died last night. People who we think need to know are being told as we speak. We've contacted several of our off world allies as well as a bunch of our own people and well you are the last to know. Not because we thought of you last but Carter wasn't sure we should use the communications device to bug you, not with your entire race going to sleep."

"I appreciate the thought O'Neill. There is little we could have done to cease his demise but had I been there I would have tried."

"It's not that old buddy. We told you because you're a friend and you knew George as well as most of us. We thought you would want to know."

"I am gratified that you have such faith in me, O'Neill. I am unable to get away from Orilla for some time but my thoughts will be with him and yourself."

"Thanks Thor, I better go. We've got stuff to do before the funeral."

"Goodbye, O'Neill."

"See ya."

_**Heavy Cruiser Hephaestus**_

_**Task Force Minotaur**_

_**In orbit of Planet Helo**_

*… _all ships are to return to Cyrannus Sector borders immediately, all previous orders are to be overridden and ignored. Task Force Minotaur, all ships are to return…_*

"The signal seems to be genuine, My Queen."

"Then we should not keep them waiting. Order all remaining Jaffa and our brothers and sisters aboard the other ships of the fleet. It is time for us to leave this world behind and find our way elsewhere."

"As you wish, My Queen."

The man bowed to the gaudily clad young woman.

The gradual turning and infiltration of the ships of this 'Colonial' fleet had been far easier than they had any right for it to be. Only one ship had been in orbit when the attack happened and it was a simple effort to persuade the crew and soldiers aboard this vessel that they had been hit by a Tau'ri force that had found the planet before them. It was odd that such a race had neither inkling of the Chappa'ai, nor the basic tenets of hyperdrives nor shielding, something that even the most foolish of her race knew well.

Once they had infiltrated the fleet, several of her children and those already mature enough from their incubators had taken control of the senior officers bringing them under her control, nish'ta and a number of unfortunate 'accidents' had taken care of the rest of the crew. One such accident brought the second heavy cruiser and the three remaining frigates alongside to help their 'crippled' sister allowing more of their brethren to take over the crews. With all five ships under her total control, the Queen would be able to put her people into Colonial society and work her way up, taking over those that would be of use to her and controlling those unworthy of absorbing.

"My Queen," the first prime knelt in front of her.

"Rise beloved and report."

"The last of your Jaffa are leaving the world below as we speak. All technology and resources that were aboard your ship have been salvaged and now sit within the holds of these ships." The Prime bowed his head refusing to look his Queen in the eyes as was her due. "The main power system was left in place as you commanded. The vessel and all signs of our encampment will be eradicated by an explosion."

"Very good, First Prime." The Goa'uld smiled benevolently at her slave, red hair cascading down her back as she draped her hand down his face forcing his eyes to meet hers. She was pleased at the depth of reverence and adoration in his half dead eyes. Her work on his mind had been a qualified success. "I will give you alone the honour of destroying what remains of that insignificant wreck."

"I am honoured, My Queen."

"Yes I know." She turned away. "Proceed with the destruction and then jump us away from this world and to the Colonies. I have a new empire to conquer."

"At once."

A signal from the cruiser activated an overload on the derelict Ha'tak. In less than six second the entire reactor, ship and fifty miles of the planet's surface were vaporised by the explosive force. The eruption was seen from hit above the planet by the orbiting ships only moments before the five ships disappeared in their own bursts of light sending the ships on a heading back to the Colonies and their destiny.

_**Upper Level Receiving Platform.**_

_**'The Crucible'**_

_**Homeworld Security Command Centre**_

_**Nevada**_

"You ready for this Paul?"

"Not really. I really could have done without this today of all days," Davis replied sorting his tie and cap before picking up his briefcase. "General O'Neill indisposed, the entire defence structure on alert in case Hammond's death sets something off and now the IOA graciously decided to grant me an audience a week later than I needed it."

"Good luck, you'll need it."

"I'll try my best Sir," Davis saluted Ronson. "Good luck yourself, sir."

"I'll try, I relieve you."

"I stand relieved," Ronson dropped the salute. _"Prometheus this is Black Knight, transport Colonel Davis to IOA HQ_."

_"Yes Sir, defence systems are synchronising with the transport systems at platforms. Stand by."_

"I really hate this part."

Davis sighed as he disappeared into the ether.

_**IOA Headquarters**_

_**Geneva**_

"Colonel Davis, please follow the usual procedures. Be aware you are being scanned and watched at all times."

A voice came from high above. Blinking his eyes from the change in lighting between the two security platforms Paul left the room and headed out into the building proper. The transporter platforms were secure shielded positions that were permanently attuned to each other and the orbiting warships allowing for a transport through the shields of the myriad of major HQs and bases that made up Homeworld Defence Command. Prometheus had been designated by his own hand as the transport ship.

Like the other major defence facilities, the IOA Headquarters were heavily shielded and protected from entry meaning that the only way in and out was via the transporter platform or through the emergency evacuation tunnel which led to another local base. While Davis' security clearance would let him into areas even the Heads of State of some countries couldn't get to, he was forced to go through the rigmarole of the council's hubris.

Sighing, he went through the usual checks and re-checks of his identity, clearance and orders. The civilians had been more paranoid than NATO, the White House or the Hague, when it came to rebuilding the defences around their HQ building.

Apart from the normal layers of security and guards that had been included in the rebuilt exits, entrances and surrounding area the members had demanded the inclusion of a Daedalus class shield and power source for it with a secondary emergency transport station in case the shields failed. They had been forced to accept one of the Prometheus' older generators; one that had been replaced with a more capable version modified Mk two Naquada Reactor. Currently the only areas with heavier defences were The Crucible, The British Space Defence HQ and the SGC, the latter of which had recently taken control of a number of scaled up plasma cannons and Lucifer equipped long – range rail guns. After almost twenty minutes of checks and another thirty of overly paranoid searches, travelling between sections and navigating the intricately constructed building, Davis finally made it to the main meeting room where he would be addressing the IOA council in their entirety.

Setting his best political face he buried his true feelings about the meeting and knocked on the door and awaited the normal games that would be an inevitable part of the day's proceedings. Several minutes passed as he waited mentally while reviewing his notes, the status of the fleet, planetary defences, the newly excavated parts of the outpost and the soon to be opened lunar fighter command station.

The doors opened in front of Davis allowing him access to the central annex of the facility. At one end of the room sat a stepped platform where the five permanent members of the IOA council sat. Approaching them, he sat his briefcase on the table in front of him. Plugging a data stick into the computer terminal imbedded in the top he stood at the side and looked to the watching civilian.

"Ladies and Gentlemen," he greeted."Thank you for your patience."

"Please Colonel Davis. I know that Homeworld Security is under strain at the moment so we'll try to get through this as quickly as possible." The chairman said. "We would like to know why the raider program has been held back. The orders were to launch attacks on the Colonials as soon as possible."

"We are trying that, sir. The fleet that is required isn't complete nor are the crews being trained up to speed on the tactics needed for this kind of warfare." Davis pulled out several papers from his briefcase, "The fleet in being at the moment is still undergoing reconstruction and standardisation. Escorts and capital ships are being formed into groups and those groups formed into task forces for defence and reconnaissance. The ships that have been designated for the Raider Project are a large section of the available groups currently in service. In addition they are ill suited for long range assault on the enemy lines."

"The Prometheus were designed for attacks on the Goa'uld, they should be fine against the Colonial forces."

"Not too much, Sir. While the class was designed for combat against Ha'tak class vessels, they are not designed for sustained combat away from supply lines. The Apollo class are even less so, within a few battles at best the entire group would out of ammunition and low on consumable supplies."

"What about the use of the larger ships as tenders. Strip out their fighter components and use them. Your own reports show that the fighters we have are of little use against the numbers that the Colonials are able to bring to bear on our people. The cargo bays should be suitable to keep out ships in the field." Hughes responded.

"Possible, sir, but impractical. The rebuild of the Prometheus class ships used would take several months at best putting the timetable you requested even further back."

"So what is it you suggest, Colonel?"

"Sir, the Prometheus class will not be used for the Raider missions. Each of the countries responsible for the construction of the ships chosen have refused to release them to Homeworld Command considering the risks involved. They will release several Daedalus class to improve the chances of the other ships in the fleet."

"That will not happen, Colonel," the Chairman responded. "Every ship of that class will be staying near Earth for its defence."

"Sir, the ships of that class belong to the countries responsible for their production and resupply. They are under the auspices of Homeworld Command and not the IOA itself. The Chinese Sun-Tzu, Our own Phoenix and finally United Kingdom's modified Exeter, once she has been completed in a few months time will remain under their respective country's control. Given the fact that most of the crews for the Apollos have been stripped from those IOA members without the ability to build larger warships they made the request directly to the command staff of both countries."

"That is against the regulations as set down when the IOA was formed to oversee the use of any and all space based forces," the British member- McClusky interrupted. "The disposal of the larger ships as a localised defence force was agreed upon by all permanent members of the Council and the command staff at the Crucible. Overriding that agreement is grounds for an investigation of those responsible for as well as those that made said agreement. You do realise this?"

"Yes, sir I do. But the agreement only covers those of the original IOA members before the attack by the Colonials. Several earlier treaties have been reactivated and the requests made directly through military channels," Davis replied. "Homeworld Security and the Council were only to be made aware of these agreements if necessary. Both Admiralty House and The People Naval Headquarters informed us yesterday."

"We should have been informed immediately," Hughes huffed loudly.

"I tried to but I was politely informed that the council was busy and I would have to wait a full week for a emergency briefing," Davis said plainly staring at several of the uneasily shifting council members. "However, our people at the Crucible have developed an idea that should allow us to gather more Intel as well as decent targets for the raider group when we can send them on."

"This better be good. Colonel, I've had just about enough with this type of attitude."

Davis' years in politics stood him in good stead against the abject bias that several of the council had. Not willing to allow Hughes to get to him, he brought up document that was transferred to the monitors of the IOA members.

"As it is Six Prometheus class ships, a host of smaller vessel and the probes needed is simply beyond our logistics capabilities to deploy outside this solar system for any suitable length of time. The constant return to Earth would put a strain on the hyperdrive systems of the Apollo class vessels. Each ship would also require a refit after every trip to and from the Cyrannus system

"While it will take several weeks to months to have the fleet ready for launch to the Cyrannus system, we have the ability to deploy some recon assets within the next three days." The monitors activated bringing up a small moon at the very edge of the Cyrannus Sector. "In three days the Prometheus Class Graf Spee will be undergoing her long range shakedown before being deployed to assist the Icarus on her reconnaissance of worlds we have already contacted and subsequently lost contact with over the years."

"Like the Tollan world." Lo-Hcin the Chinese Delegate spoke up. "Our reports indicate that a number of survivors and some of their technology are salvageable."

"Yes, sir. The Tollan world is about to receive assistance through a Stargate once it arrives. The Graf Spee will also search for a group of ships that survived the attack and managed to escape. It's hoped that the ships managed to get away and are headed towards a friendly world. But after five years we've no clue where they might be."

"Very well Colonel, please continue."

"The Graf Spee will come out of hyperspace on the very edge of known Colonial Space. Our last few encounters have proved that at range the Colonial scanning equipment can't see our ships or fighters at all. The Spee will deploy a team of engineers using beacons and the Asgard transporter to hollow out a section of a large asteroid to house a purpose built _'duck blind'_," Paul continued. "A large construct made up of a highly specialised signal decryption and analysis system, secreted into the asteroid and secured by returning the rock around the blind we will be able to put a team of our best data analysis and retrieval people close to the Cyrannus system without any knowledge that they are there."

Paul continued the brief while watching the members of the committee. "The Spee will deliver six high speed low observation probes into the system alongside the remaining two that are in place. For the next few months the teams will intercept translate and send on any information that is deemed necessary or useful to the raider force."

"A few months is a long time, Colonel. A lot can change."

"Yes ma'am, it could and that's why we need people in the area capable of adapting to the changing demands for information and locations of ships, the local planets and anything else that the probes pick up. A team of nine specialists will be dispatched and then retrieved on four week rotations. Personnel will be replaced and consumables recharged by whichever Prometheus ship is available at the time."

"One month doesn't seem much, Colonel." McClusky pushed. "Why not three or six months if all that will be needed is a resupply."

"Most of the teams will be made up of personnel that are not usually deployed to active combat areas. Several are in fact civilians that volunteered for this kind of duty. A short term duty is the best compromise between the skills that we need and the risk that they are taking. Most will start to feel under pressure within a few weeks dropping off their efficiency by more than half." Paul looked over the politicians. "Fear of discovery and what that would mean is a very real danger for all the units we're sending in for recon and attack. The fact is we have fewer ships than we want and more missions for them than we can handle."

"How will the data be transferred back home?"

"The shelter was designed to incorporate a single subspace transmitter on a secure long range channel to the closest major colony or base that we have. With the Cyrannus system within relatively close range the data would be received by Defence Command's main communications arrays in Australia," Davis continued. "We removed the idea of adding a Stargate for security reasons and lack of necessity. All food, water and life support will be topped up with each visit."

"And this can be ready within the week, Colonel?" Lo-Hcin asked.

"Yes Ma'am. The prototype was to be the headquarters for the search and recovery group on Tollana. With the change in mission parameters the bunker became available. The team can be briefed and assembled before the end of the week and be on the Spee within six days. Considering its distance from the Colonies, the inferior sensor technology that are available to their ships and the use of subspace technology there will be almost an infinitesimal chance that the Colonials will discover the Duck Blind let alone find a way to capture them."

"Then it will be undefended," the Frenchman scowled. "That seems a little risky."

"If they are discovered then the subspace transmitter will allow us to have a ship there within a hour or so. But if necessary there is a limited shield generator that can be added to the base itself but will take the entire generator output to run it. That will limited life support or the ability to call for help."

"We'll confer over this Colonel, but I am extremely unhappy with the way that this has been handled by the Crucible and staff of Homeworld Command. Do you understand me?"

To his credit and to the chagrin of the other American Paul didn't flinch nor did he say anything that could put him or his command in any sort of trouble. "Of course sir. Is there anything else that you need to know?"

"Nothing. You may leave now, Colonel."

Nodding silently, he took his leave as quickly as decorum allowed. The Air Force officer left the meeting room and headed for the transport platform.

The council however stayed where they were until they were sure that they were alone. Moments later Hughes slumped back in his chair seething at the fact that the IOA were once again being given the runaround by the military against their orders.

"Well, we knew it was a risk to order the entire Daedalus line to stay around Earth as its defence fleet," LeClerk said. "There was no way that Homeworld Command would allow that to stand, not when there is a war being waged and especially after O'Neill's response for our earlier mismanagement of the world's defences. We may be an oversight committee but we don't have the authority to demand that countries risk their people on our say so."

"The fact that several countries went around us to talk to the naval commands of our countries seemed a bit much." McClusky replied to the other man before looking at the others. "As it is within the remit for the Royal, People's and the United States Navies to withdraw their personnel and their ships if they believe that they can be utilised better. The agreement for a combined command is not set in stone and never has been and given that more than a few countries are talking to Homeworld Security is also a problem."

"Their orders are clear and legal, the IOA are responsible for the oversight of the military forces at our disposal," Hughes complained. "If we allow the dispatch of three of our biggest and most powerful ships from the defence of this world then we risk serious trouble if any of our enemies find out."

"I found their information quite revealing," the Russian- Vladikov replied. "The fact that the fleet's logistics are in the state they are in may mean more than we think. With so many ships in the system, where are the cargo ships, tankers, freighters and tenders that are needed to keep a fleet in action away from our borders?"

"With the demand for warships and the speed of the hyperdrive it seemed a waste to construct them," McClusky replied. "Unless we cut back on the mass production of the Apollos let's say and retool them into long range tenders then we have nothing that will allow the fleet to stay on station for as long as we wish. This is one thing that the Colonials have on us. They are able to stay on mission for far longer than almost any other ship we've seen."

"Maybe exchanging the ships in the Raider formation would be prudent," the Chinese delegate added. "Six ships, even of the lesser Prometheus class can be in more places than the three larger vessels; however I am unsure as to sending the heavy gunship variant that the British have designated for the mission, Mr McClusky."

"The Royal Navy have a lower number of ships than most of the rest of the fleets under construction. The Exeter while untested is the only ship we have that we can risk sending. Its excess weapons systems in comparison to the bog standard Daedalus will give the Raider group a better chance against the Colonials. In addition the Exeter will be able to carry far more food, water and rail gun supplies then other non– modified ships. Besides it also gives us a proving ground for the new design and whether or not it's worth building more of them or sticking with the 304 class as is."

"The defence of this world is the primary order for the fleet. The larger ships are the best we have."

"For the moment," he admitted. "But with the numbers of ships that our enemies have, Mr. Hughes, keeping our best ships close by while our enemies begin exploration and exploitation of their local space while we sit here and turn turtle is beyond foolishness." the Englishman replied. "Currently with a larger number of ships, the ever increasing number of operational ground and orbital defences and the technology advantage we already have means that we can call back every ship out on missions, if necessary, within a few days."

"What the hell is the point in being an oversight committee if every single order we make is run roughshod over by the people we're supposed to be watching?" the Frenchman replied.

"Maybe instead of ordering the fleet to stay where it was we should have asked to keep them here. Or maybe we should go and get their input instead of demanding when and where the ships should be."

"We have more than enough former members of the SGC and naval branches to know exactly how things should be used and where," Hughes shot back. "The IOA is in its position to make sure that these people don't take advantage of things, especially barely literate thugs like O'Neill and his people."

"Oh, not this again." McClusky sighed. "Have you any idea at all how much of an idiot you sound like? Do you really think having the rank that man has would be simply given to him if he couldn't use it?"

"I'm well aware of his abilities. The man has the qualifications and the knowledge of his job, but outside of that he is going to make things worse for us long before he makes it better."

_**Battlestar Valkyrie**_

_**Guardian Class Three Battlestar **_

_**Caprica Containment and Quarantine Zone**_

_**Twelve Colonies**_

"We're set, Bill. Ship's locked down and under quarantine."

Tigh had knocked on the hatchway and entered with the report that Adama had been awaiting. The bald man frowned as he looked at his friend. Bill was very rarely a hardcore drinker and was even less likely to drink heavily when on board the ship, something that Saul knew he had been badly remiss about over the years. In front of his friend and commanding officer sat two wide bottomed tumblers with an etched seal on them. A bottle of amber liquid right in front of the other man also sat full and sealed with a flaking wax covering on the lid. "What's this?"

"A gift."

"A gift?"

Adama threw a card onto the table gesturing for Saul to pick it up. The writing inside was in perfect modern Caprican right the way down to the idioms of the language. The front held the same seal on the front while the inside was hand written, the Colonel read the message then again just to make sure that what he was reading was right before setting it back down on the table in front of him. Bill picked up the bottle by its neck and handed it over to his exec before picking up the card himself. The writing on the label was unreadable to the two men but it was more than obvious what the bottle contained, not to mention the age of the bottle and the contents inside.

"It's old," was all Tigh could say. "Nice sense of humour."

"I've had the bottle's name and contents translated by Mister Gaeta" said Adama. "The writing's one of the dominant languages of the Earth, a bastard language he called it. This is some kind of drink known as Glennfiddich Scotch on Earth. According to Gaeta this stuff was brewed over a hundred years ago in a place called Scot-island. It's forty percent proof and double malted whatever that means."

"Odd sense of humour General O'Neill has." Tigh mused as he looked at the liquid inside. He eyed it carefully and with more than a bit of suspicion. "Poisoned?"

Commander looked at Tigh smiling ruefully. "It's a message, as well as a gift." Adama carefully took the bottle back and gently unwrapped the top of the bottle saving the wax seal as best he could before pulling the lid off of the scotch, pouring a modest measure into the two glasses he held one up and looked at the clear crystal of the tumbler. Tigh looked over the glass as it was handed to him before shaking his head.

The etched seal was written in both English and basic Caprican allowing them to know that the seal itself was that of the Office of the Chief of Staff of Homeworld Security, General Jack O'Neill himself. Each of the glasses had one name or the other of the Valkyrie's senior officers. Bill had no idea how O'Neill had known what ship they were or how he knew the two of them would still be in command of the Battlestar. "O'Neill knew everything he needed to, he wanted us to know just what he was capable of."

"My gods. We are fracked." Tigh held up the other glass looking at the amber color liquid insides before looking back at his friend. "If he can put these things in your quarters there's no way in hell we can stop him if he wanted to beam a nuke into the engines. Poisoning a vintage bottle like this would be a bit below his capabilities."

"He's good, very good." Adama took a draught of the scotch. "Hmmm."

Tigh followed the gesture and felt the liquid drop down into his stomach. "Whoa, that is good."

"As good as some of the bottles in my cellar."

"At least," Tigh agreed "Something else that we have to put into the reports."

"Taking people off their ships and putting expensive alcohol in someone's quarters, Corman is going to go ape shit."

"Couldn't happen to a nicer person; just don't tell him about the bottle. Make it a fruit basket or something." Tigh finished his drink "We've had a message from Corman's office. He's on his way here and he's a little frakked off with the fact that we threatened to put a hole in the defence perimeter. He also decided that we can't have finished our mission in the time we've had."

"If you weren't on board would you have believed it?"

"Not really, no."

"Sirs." A knock came from the open hatch, Gaeta peered in. "Admiral Corman is landing now in Beta Bay, he jumped in from orbit on the other side of the planet."

"That was quick," Saul gruffed.

"Guess he didn't want to wait. Return to your station."

"Aye, sir."

Adama picked up his glass and retrieved the other from Tigh. Carefully wrapping them in a piece of cloth he put both away inside his trunk. The bottle followed them into the depths before he closed the lid locking them in securely. The fact he had them could be construed as consorting with the enemy especially given the fact he had been aboard an enemy ship and out of contact for several minutes.

"Time to get this over with."

"Admiral Adama, Colonel Tigh," Corman said as he barged into Adama's cabin. The senior officer was more haggard than he had been before their voyage to Earth and looked as if he had the weight of all the twelve colonies on his shoulder.

"Admiral Corman."

"Sir."

"Well, what exactly do you have onboard that is so gods – damned important that you threaten the safety of the defensive line around the capital of the planet and ignore your orders?" Corman was seething.

"We didn't ignore anything sir," Adama shot back. "The probes we were sent to retrieve are sitting in Alpha Bay waiting for date extraction. In addition we also brought back a ship full of survivors from the battle at Earth. You might have seen that heavy cruiser sitting off our port side."

"You are six weeks ahead of schedule. Even the best jumps possible wouldn't have got you that far that fast."

"Not usually no. You might want to sit down, Admiral. This is a long story."

"Just tell me the basics."

"Fine, the Tau'ri caught us and let us go."

"What, why?

"They had a ship's worth of survivors they were willing to let go home. They needed someone to bring them back and we were there picking up your stealth probes, probes which they seemed to have no idea existed."

"Good, then maybe we can get some decent information out of them." The Intelligence chief looked at the two men. "Alright Adama let's say I believe that they let you go. What happened?"

"Simply put, sir they wanted to scare us."

"And how exactly did they do that?"

"We jumped from the area close to their fourth planet to the border of our home sector," Tigh replied smirking, "in one jump."

"Really," Corman sneered. "What else did you manage to do Colonel, persuade the Earth to give over all their technology and surrender? A jump that size is not only impossible but damned stupid to even try."

Adama handed over the data record of the ship's voyage to the Earth's solar system before their capture and subsequent release. The information gathered in the file included the number of probes they were able to ascertain the locations of, those they were able to salvage and the apparent inability of the Tau'ri to spot the stealth characteristics of their specialist probes. The final section had involved the conversation with O'Neill and the use of their energy beam technology to pluck him from the Valkyrie to the Icarus. The fact was it was a warning and a very serious one at that.

Corman seemed to visibly age as he quickly looked over the data. "If this is right then they can jump in at least this far with our own FTL drives. They've got access to hundreds of FTL cores and the location of every station, anchorage and planet we've got!" hissed Corman. This was the last thing the Colonials needed to hear. "Which means every mission in the local sectors looking for their long range bases…?"

"Have been a big frakking waste of time and resources, Admiral" he concluded. Adama looked the other man in the eyes. "The Tau'ri would have no problem dropping a fleet inside the Colonies and blasting anything that got in the way. They have our technology our Intel and our star maps. One of their ships with shield and a dozen big nukes and we'd lose another planet to them, then another."

"Hells, if they wanted they pack Raptors with bombs and jump them all across the system crippling our defences and our economy in a single blow." Tigh growled. "If they can do this with our tech, what the hell do they have that we haven't seen yet?"

"I'll send a recall order to all ships out on exploration duty, pull back every ship we can into the colonies and stay there. I'm attaching your ship back to the survivor groups from the clusterfrak at Earth. Most of those ships are still in quarantine as well."

"After nine months?"

"Orders from Adar's office. The entire fleet has been dispatched for repair and refit at the new yards at Ragnar. The Valkyrie will be heading up the remaining ships as part of the local defence fleet Admiral," Corman explained. "The fleet as it is will be holding position until the President's office deems that they be released back to the Colonies. He's using the excuse of a resurgence of the plague that hit us to keep them under EMCOM. He'll order both this ship and the Relentless to head there as well, although in regards to the Relentless' crew, I won't disagree with that, a year under Tau'ri control… Well I'm not willing to put my ass on the line in case they are carrying something nasty."

"Yes, sir," Adama also agreed. "But the rest of the fleet came back without having touched ground or been in close quarters with any of the Earth's people. The colonies already know about the Earth's people and the fact we got our asses handed to us."

"Fear Adama, simple fear. The fleet is full of the only people who survived contact with the Earthers and their fleet. Adar used propaganda to tell the colonies that took out more than fifty percent of their fleet. He didn't tell anyone that fleet was only six ships. He lets the crews of those ships out the truth comes up and he's frakked."

"He is frakked. A year without any contact with home and no-one back home knows if any of their friends or family are still alive. He'd be lucky to hold down a job as a librarian after this shit," Adama growled.

"It gets worse, Admiral." Tigh said. "The Earthers have more than fifty warships in orbit of their planet, some their bigger bastards but most are smaller gunboats of some kind. And small as they are I'm willing to bet my pension that one of them can frak up one of our Battlestars, let alone anything else we've got."

"Did they look like they were gathering those forces from outside?"

"No. Most looked brand new and hadn't been broken in and if they'd had that many ships available a year ago none of us would be standing here. The Tau'ri could have used those ships on us by now dropping nukes onto every planet. If they mass produce their largest ships one for one against our Battlestars…." He didn't need to finish the thought.

Corman rubbed his face, weariness showing through. "We need the Intel that those probes have Adama if there's anything in there that can show us what we're up against and not the rhetoric that Adar and the church are spewing then we need it ASAP. We've got an Intel team at Ragnar to take them off your hands while you get situated as fleet commander. You'll answer directly to Admiral Kronus as CinC of the Ragnar Fleet Anchorage or to me. No one else is to know anything that you've seen or heard is that understood?"

"Understood. The jump took out most of our tylium, but we'll have enough for a jump to the shipyards but we'll need a refuel there."

"The tankers have just dropped off a full load for the shipyards. Off the record Adama, I want my ships out of there and on station as soon as possible. We lost far too many ships to keep seventy on the same station without rotating the crews. The quarantine story is losing any credibility it had and the people that forced its implementation with it. The fact is that we're sending you to keep the fleet stable before it blows up. Supplies and equipment for the ships have been going through the shipyards to repair and resupply the surviving ships but we've not allowed any replacement personnel on board, no vipers or raptors and no replacement ammo or nukes."

"That bad?" Tigh asked.

"Bad enough, I want you there within the hour, Admiral. The data extraction teams will be on station before you get there, no-one outside of the chain of command is to know anything about those probes or where they came from." Corman stood up. "Change of fleet command orders have already been sent. I'll wish you luck but I hope to Hades that you don't need it."

"Yes, sir." Adama's gravelled voice was low as the implication set in. "I hope so too."

Minutes later a single Raptor left the flight pod heading for a decontamination suite on the central station. Moments later a single flash of light indicated the departure of the Valkyrie to Ragnar. Aboard the Battlestar the ship's master began to plan. He had a lot to do and if the indications were right then he had very little time in which to do it.


	23. Chapter Twenty One

_**Chapter 21**_

_**Ragnar Anchorage**_

_**Second Fleet Command Station**_

_**Colonial Deep Space**_

Kronus grimaced at the taste of three hour old cold coffee as it hit his tongue. As a Battlestar Group Commander and later a full Battle Wing Commander he had thought that he'd seen the true face of evil, but that was nothing compared to what he had had to face in his office.

Paperwork...

Not just a little...

Not just a lot...

...Paperwork involving the station and its attendant ships, their attendant ships and then the parasite wings, supplies, incoming and outgoing craft including the newly arrived Battlestars from the bone yards for the new or soon to be complete slipways, and of course the usual demands for updates from Command which seemed to multiply on a daily basis. Even with the usual dissemination to Section Heads, command staffs and then further and further down to whoever would be best suited they still ended up in the Admiral's office for signing off.

Signing off on yet another request to Colonial Fleet Command for more Viper and Raptor Squadrons to round up the station's defences, Kronus set aside the pen and paper and looked out of the huge bay windows to the side of his office. From there he could see the massive expansion of the yards still taking place. There were a dozen decommissioned Battlestars under reconstruction from the hull inwards, while a larger number of skeletons were visible nearby as the mass production of the Type Threes were beginning. Other, smaller yards were building escorts for the fleet that was slowly taking shape inside the gas giant.

However as he stared out into the void at his station, his eyes were forced to focus into the far distance at a cluster of ships, something that remained a visible sore on his otherwise flawless command...

...The Crusade Fleet.

There were dozens of ships both in sound shape and damaged, filled with hundreds of thousands of crewmen, officers, pilots, soldiers and technicians all survivors of the ill fated attack on Earth and its supposedly undefended people. All of them were stuck together on ships that weren't designed to handle so many people. Those cramped ships were beginning to fail, forcing the survivors to abandon their supposedly temporary homes in favor of even more cramped ships.

Pulling his eyes away from the windows, Kronus looked back down at the pile of documents he was still signing off on. Command of Ragnar and its surrounding shipyards was something that he hadn't been expecting, when he arrived a week before. Even as a Battlestar Wing Commander, he hadn't had so much power and responsibility handed to him.

The station and its own defence ships would have been enough responsibility for even the most experienced men in his position, but for him to also command the shipyards, the Research and Development sections, and the remnants of that damn fool crusade meant that he was on call almost all day, every day. His advancing years were creeping up on him and even if the doctor had said he could look forward to another thirty years on top of his seventy five, he was feeling the strain already.

Fortunately his salvation had just arrived.

Far outside the gas giant's perimeter, the Valkyrie flashed into existence, its main DRADIS and comms system locked forward into the single passageway into the Ragnar Fleet Yards.

"Jump complete, Ragnar Orbit, Commander."

"Find the IFF beacon Ensign. Run the program."

"Running the program, Aye."

"The people at Command are more paranoid than I am," Saul said, "trusting damn machines to keep us safe too."

"Now we know just what the Tau'ri are capable of, are you surprised?"

"No, not really."

"Sirs," Gaeta called. "Picking up pulse beacon with Colonial IFF; it's responding to our own comms."

"Alright, lock on and get us to the station."

The Valkyrie moved slowly as she entered the forward end of the passageway, her DRADIS picking up every mine, defence post and satellite in the area. Each of the defences was constantly scanning and being updated as to the location and identity of the Battlestar. The program input now controlling the Valkyrie's forward motion was a combined IFF beacon and command program-meaning that no-one knew just what was part of the defences, nor how to get through the gauntlet without being pulverised by shrapnel, explosives and heavy nukes.

Once through to the other side the program would erase itself completely, forcibly overwriting itself to the point that no computer could rebuild the data, a security feature that it was hoped would make it more difficult for any enemy to find and infiltrate Ragnar without an authentic IFF code. Once inputted into the main systems, the program was fully automated, linking the library computer to the navigation and communications system. The Valkyrie's own systems had been tied together temporarily to allow them access to the shipyards. Passing through the final barrier of mines, the Valkyrie burst out into the station's defence perimeter which was surrounded by a last grouping of defence turrets which like the rest of the weapons holding position throughout the entryway had been picked up from the orbit of Picon. Those weapons were further enhanced by successive waves of weapons and mines pulled out of mothballs and returned to service.

As the Battlestar slipped through a pair of heavy fleet tugs broke away from an intercepting formation of ships. At their order, the Valkyrie's engine shut down allowing the escorting auxiliaries to pull them into position alongside one of the resupply tenders.

"Message from the Station Commander, sir," Lt Hunter said from his position. "They are sending a raptor across to you from the station' hub. Admiral Kronus wishes for you to board as soon as possible. We've also got two larger shuttles requesting landing clearance. They have Ministry of Intelligence codes, sir."

"I bet they do," sighed Adama. "Signal the shuttles for immediate landing and get Chief Tyrol to hand over the probes we picked up. Once we're docked with the tender reduce crew to skeleton manning and continue with normal rotation. Relax people it's been a very long day."

The raptor that landed was larger and far more opulent than the normal fleet based versions, something that was very likely pushed through the fleet procurement quickly and silently for the upper brass of the multiple arms of the armed forces. Sleeker and armed with a pair of cannons and rocket pods that seemed to be permanent fixtures aboard instead of a modular attachment, the inside was far more comfortable that any other shuttle sized ship that the fleet officer had ever been on. The cost of this modified raptor would have furnished a dozen of her combat oriented sisters or the majority of the cost of a fleet destroyer.

"Fancy," Tigh sneered. "Think we can get one?"

"I'm an Admiral. I'll find out."

"Valkyrie, this is Raptor Ragnar Zero One, requesting clearance for lift off."

"Raptor Zero One, you have clearance. Look after your passengers."

"Roger that." The pilot looked behind him at the two senior officers. "Buckle up, sirs. We're outta here."

"Thank you, Lt." Adama responded. "This is an interesting vessel."

"Yes Sir, but a little too… fancy for my tastes," the young man said. "To be fair, this is only my second time flying her. She's been highly tuned."

"How much?"

"I trained in both Raptors and Vipers, sir. This thing flies like a combination of both. Fast but a frakker to steer sometimes… uhh sorry, Sir."

"Apology Accepted Lt…"

"Quantaros, sir. Alex Quantaros. Crashdown."

"Crashdown?" Tigh grumbled. "And they let you fly?"

"Yes, sir." He grinned. "I'm pretty new here. Just off the Triton before she was shifted to the Cylon border, so I'm still on ferry duty until I get my bearings on the station."

A few minutes later the Raptor dropped down onto the station's main hanger bay. The recent addition to the huge station had allowed the increase in fighter deployment allowing more than ten squadrons to be serviced from this one bay alone. Shuttles, Raptors, tankers, lifters and numerous other types of small craft were lifting off, landing or undergoing maintenance. As they landed, a larger than normal group of knuckle draggers swarmed over the vessel; checking it over for any problems that the very short voyage might have had.

"Unbelievable." Tigh looked on saying, "the Admiral's got all the perks."

Adama simply shrugged as the marine guard met them at the lifts to the upper decks of the station. A few minutes later the small group ended their journey at the double doors of the Admiral's office. A quick knock followed by an 'enter' brought Adama and Tigh face to face with their new senior officer.

"Admiral Kronus."

"Admiral Adama, Colonel Tigh." Kronus nodded to the marine guards. "Dismissed gentlemen."

The two guards left the three ranking officers behind as they marched through the heavy doors before sealing them with a hiss. The pneumatic seal would keep anyone from getting into the room with anything short of a dedicated breaching charge. Kronus looked up at Adama his face neutral as the younger man stared back. Slowly the elderly admiral's face began to twitch slightly before breaking into a suppressed smile then a grin. Adama's own reaction was much the same as the two men grabbed each other's hands in a firm grip.

"Dammit Bill, it's good to see you."

"You too, Phil." Adama smiled back.

"Saul, you too."

"Same, sir. It's been a while."

"So, It seems the two of you aren't the most popular of officers back home right now," Kronus said gesturing to the chairs in front of his desk. "I've had some information handed to me from Corman and more from some old friends in Caprica Command. Apparently you are seen at the moment as politically unreliable and a possible danger to the colonies."

"I'm not surprised."

"Care to inform me about the real reasons and not the frak that I've been given by the Admiralty?" The elder Admiral spoke throwing down a highly classified report in front of Adama. Bill quickly ran through the report before snorting back a laugh and handing it to his exec. "Yes I thought that might be your reaction."

"What the frak is this?" Saul's eyes narrowed at the report. "Possible dereliction, unsubstantiated information? We only got back a few hours ago."

"I received that report three days ago along with an order to hand over control of the crusade fleet remnants to you. They want you in command the same way you were when you brought the survivors back from the assault on Earth. Any other commander would be at risk of contamination from those vessels."

"The contamination isn't from the viruses that the government somehow have made people believe that airtight ships that didn't even enter orbit of a planet have. The quarantine is to keep the crews from talking about what they saw."

"After the debacle at Earth then the crippling of two colonies by their forces, are you surprised?" Kronus leant back. "Sagittaron has been quarantined as well. An entire ship full of people infected with the Tau'ri plague landed in a major city. More than fifty percent of the planet's population are dead, dying or ill from the virus, the rest – are just a matter of time. We're lucky that the livestock and plants seem to be immune to the illness. Once the virus burns itself out we'll have to repopulate the world."

"Frak me," Saul growled.

"It's funny but if Picon and Caprica hadn't been so badly hit by the Tau'ri already we'd be looking at food shortages. Combined with the losses taken due to the virus, the Colonies can weather the loss of Sagittaron for a while."

"That explains how Adar's kept people from asking about the survivors."

"It won't be for long. It's been long enough since the attack on Earth that people are asking why aren't the fleet doing something to stop the Tau'ri. Adar's exercises won't work forever and now he's flailing at the wind, unable to grasp anything solid."

"How many ships are we looking at under my command Philip?"

"At least thirty five warships and the troop carriers you brought back, a few more older vessels were put back into service to accommodate the rest of the crews and soldiers you brought back with you. Maybe seventy ships all told."

"And none armed?"

"How much did Corman tell you?"

"That the ships that we brought back have been resupplied and are staying supplied with food and fuel but no weapons, no vipers or raptors or new crews."

"That's about right. The remaining smaller craft in the fleet were sequestered into the station's defence force but the pilots were left on the warships. Any remaining nuclear weapons have also been acquired for the launchers. It apparently helped with the overcrowding those ships were stuck with until the troop ships appeared." Kronus buzzed his assistant to bring in some refreshments before continuing. "Those ships of the fleet that still have armament are close to being pulled out of their formations and added to the defence fleet here. The orders will mean that the crews won't have any recourse in their attempts to get contact with people back home. Every ship and soldier at this base is here under orders of strict silence, no-one is allowed out of here unless they have a damn good reason or orders from the Admiralty. This includes you two and the Valkyrie."

"An easy way to keep people silent. What about the rest of the ships Admiral?" Tigh asked. "There are a lot of non-navy personnel on those ships; they won't have any reason to stay here."

"I know and that's what Corman's sent you here for. The ground pounders are in a worse state that the Naval personnel. None of them have been in combat or come close to Earth for deployment; combine that with the fact that few of them are trained for very long term deployment aboard warships. Well, you can see the problem that's brewing out there, sooner or later something is going to break and it's going to come from that fleet." Kronus stopped as a female lieutenant stepped in with a tray of hot drinks before leaving. The Admiral smirked, "well as you can see some perks come with this job, although at my age I'm not really capable of taking advantage of them as I once may have."

Turning serious, he looked at the two men. "I need all the help I can get with this problem. The fleet as a whole has lost almost a tenth of its combined forces in a year. We've been pushing the remaining construction yards above Sagittaron, Caprica, and the Storm hold Bone yards at Cimtar and now here at Ragnar. We've managed to recover and rebuild almost every Battlestar, Warstar and Battleship that we had decommissioned in the last fifty years. We've got another eighty class three Battlestars under construction with another ten Class Ones on the boards. Within two years we'll have replaced every loss and then some but we don't have the crews nor the stockpiles and refineries to do much more than that. But it's not enough. We are in a bad way materially, in personnel and weapons plus the morale of our armed forces is lower than any time I've seen since the start of the Cylon war. We've lost more ships and people in one year than ten against the toasters. Now the fleet are asking why are we bothering to continue and that's where you come in."

"So it seems, I brought them home and I've gone back and come out alive."

"Exactly. If the fleet finds out that one of our ships had dared to go back into the mouth of the Chimera and not only stared it down but come back intact with information that would lead to us understanding the Tau'ri..." Kronus leant back. "At least that's Command's line when the ship commanders begin to ask about things, the fact is Bill you, like your ship, the crusade fleet, and its people are undesirables when it comes to politics. As much as we want to get our people out of there we haven't been given permission to release the crews from their ships and the time they've spent underway, on station or under quarantine will exceed the normal patrol duration in six months. After a protracted combat and retreat that duration has passed by before your people even arrived home and the crews know that."

"The Valkyrie's been out there twice. We should have been ready for a refit and resupply by now."

"I agree. The ships in your fleet are in a sorry state with breakdowns being repaired on site or with parts equipped by the tenders and machine shops here on the station but some need serious overhauls to their systems or hull repairs. One damaged Battlestar underwent total atmospheric loss to its lower hull soon after arrival. No losses but the entire ship had to be evacuated quickly. We didn't even bother with a full decontamination of the ship outside of a total depressurisation to kill whatever bug was aboard. She's been rebuilt and added to the defence fleet leaving her crew on the other ships."

"And there's nothing stopping the Admiralty ordering the same with the other ships and moving the crews to troop ships to keep them there." Tigh bit out. "Keeping our own people as POWs instead of the enemy, frak!"

"Seven other ships underwent other system malfunctions including power loses during their redeployment here. Each has been pulled apart and rebuilt before being added to the fleet again instead of sent back to assist the rest of the survivors." Kronus passed over a file from his desk draw. "Right now, more than twelve thousand incidences of assault, insubordination, theft, harassment, rape, manslaughter and murder have been reported by the fleet's commanders."

He continued as the two men looked over the information that the Admiral had uncovered from investigations of the fleet. The contents were not something that either had ever wanted to see. "A thousand men and women have been spaced by summary judgement by ship's crews when the guilty verdict came down. The fact is we're in a serious position that will cause us to lose more people at a vicious rate, a rate we can't afford to lose people at. Those are highly trained personnel that we need back on the front lines but even if they are put back on duty most will desert or refuse to go back on patrol without serious leave first." The Senior Admiral glanced out the windows again, "Our people need to decompress. The fact is that I have seventy ships whose crews are at the very edge of their patience and some may be willing to fight back against any fleet ships that try to force the issue."

"Mutiny." Tigh replied succinctly thinking of at least one such occurrence in the last fifty years that he knew of.

"Mutiny," Kronus confirmed. "There hasn't been a full warship scale mutiny since the sixth year of the Cylon War and I'm sure as hell not going to allow something like that to happen here!"

"The Deimos was an isolated incident," Adama nodded.

The Deimos had been a prototype warship built as the last heavy cruiser class of an independent Leonis during the lead up to what eventually became the Cylon war. What was little more than a Proto-Battlestar with heavy calibre guns had been at the forefront of the war alongside four of her sisters as a flying wedge of firepower. One battle had been orchestrated by a foolish commander that had been motivated by greed rather than by combat necessity lead to the annihilation of the flying wing.

As the only survivor of the battle that had cost the Colonies the rest of the squadron and the Battlestar group that they had been supporting, the crew was ordered to Picon to undergo a full investigation with the command crew possibly up for courts martial. In response the ship's crew as one had decided that enough was enough and had mutinied against the orders from Colonial Command and retreated from the battlefield.

The cruiser had continued to fight the Cylons of its own accord while hijacking arms and supply shipments to keep their ship running. Unwilling or unable to stop the attacks on their own ships, Colonial command had allowed the Deimos to continue in their attacks. Several other ships were hijacked and added to the Deimos fleet as missile carriers or to misdirect the Cylons, however the fall of the heavy cruiser would come at the hands of a sister ship. Post war, the Deimos crew were offered amnesty if they were to return to Colonial control and surrender their vessel to the authorities. Unwilling to believe the same Admiralty that threatened to arrest and put the crew on trial, the Deimos refused and continued to raid supply ships simply to survive.

A year later, the cruiser was cornered by another heavy cruiser of her line, a heavily modified variant designed as a hunter-killer. More than ten years older than her sister and barely held together through the efforts of the ship's engineers the Deimos stood no chance against the heavily armed Colonial ship. It took mere minutes before the Deimos was destroyed and its crew killed.

This was the last case of mutiny in the Colonial fleet.

"But I see your point, if we're to keep these people happy or at least somewhat content then we need to do something about getting them off of those ships," Adama mused. "At least get a few more ships to stop the overcrowding."

"I've tried that. The Admiralty refuse to allow for any more ships to be 'infected' by that fleet population because of the costs of maintenance as well as clearing out the apparent diseases they might have. So, if you have any ideas I'm willing to listen," Kronus said. You're the new fleet commander."

"I'll let you know when I think of it."

"Alright then, once you're back on the Valkyrie you'll be towed into place with the rest of the fleet. Unfortunately you will be under the same constraints as the rest of the fleet when it comes to any external communication. The only contact you will have is amongst the other ships in the fleet and my command section. Food, medical and other necessary supplies will be restocked when and if necessary by the same tenders that are currently refitting your ship. I'm sorry to say that your ship is also being stripped of the same weapons and craft as the rest of your fleet has. It's orders from on high which I'm afraid is actually my fault."

"Your fault?"

"I've asked several times for supplies and craft to reinforce this station. I'm under strength by more than a third in everything except local escorts and I was informed to strip the crusade fleet of anything they had to bolster my defences. It was all I could do to refuse to pull the ammo from the point defence guns on your ships, but considering the possibility of mutiny I might have to look at stripping out the larger calibre weapons as well."

"We've got one squadron of Vipers on board. The rest were taken off before we were launched on the second mission to Earth."

"The fleet out there had maybe one hundred fighters and a few dozen nukes on board. Apparently they had orders to push out anything that could be dumped to make room for the other refugees from the fleet and crews of Atropos and the rest of the station crews on their way in."

"I know, I ordered it. No frakking way I was leaving anyone behind when we blew the supply stations."

"Right now we don't have the ability to get the ships needed nor any way to bring them aboard this station. I'm going to ask you, not order, to take on a few thousand of the soldiers out there. Your ship can take at least enough to relieve the overcrowding on the smaller ships."

An automated message interrupted the conversation the voice echoed through the command centre and out to its attendant ships and stations throughout the base.

"_Attention all hands, FTL event at outside perimeter. All hands to Condition Two Status. Repeat all hands to Condition Two status."_

"Must be the delivery from the bone yards," Kronus murmured, "the last of the decommissioned Warstars."

"Which class?" Tigh looked out the window as a few dozen vipers launched from the station and the surrounding ships. Guns and missile batteries on the furthest defence platforms moved silently into position in case of attack. The fleet was obviously well trained and experienced in this kind of drill.

"Colonial Class, the Zeus I think."

"That thing's almost as old as the Galactica Class," Tigh said, wide eyed. "I didn't think any were still around."

"A salvage team found one about four months ago or so, they found something on board that the Admiralty are keeping hushed up about." Kronus looked out at the assembling force, "Six minutes to move on station, not bad at all."

"We need to start rotating people off of those ships somehow." Adama said bringing the conversation back on track. He looked up with a puzzled look. "As the fleet commander, I have some power to do so. Correct?"

The Admiral shifted in his chair. "As long as it doesn't interfere with the running of this command or against the orders yes," he ordered.

"Is there anything in our orders that preclude them from accepting new supplies onto their ships?"

"Only munitions and other weapons. No new crews either. We've allowed personnel to swap between units to retrain or develop skills but we've not got enough ships or open posts to do so."

"Are all supplies brought in from outside the Station?"

"Some. We've had manufacturing ships and botanical cruisers brought in to help make us self sufficient but a lot of actual material is brought in by specially modified cargo ships under the auspices of Fleet Intelligence. Even then it's a bare trickle compared to what used to supply Picon. Hells, at the rate the resources we have are being used we'll be out of building materials within the year."

"I'll have the fleet let me know of the state of their ships and entertainment libraries. If necessary we'll have new films, books, etc sent across. I'm also going to commandeer the largest of the Botanical cruisers."

"I think I know where you're going with this Adama. Those cruisers supply a large percentage of fresh fruit and vegetables to this Command. Taking the largest cruiser will put a dent in our supply situation. A word of warning: the Admiralty may decide to overrule your decision once they hear of it."

"Those crews are supposed to be under quarantine. A ship like a Botanical Cruiser built to keep pressure in their domes and to stop cross contamination." Tigh smirked. "If we rotate people through three of her domes the others will be fine. The supplies on at least one of those ships must be dedicated to the fleet."

"It is. Alright Adama, I'll authorise this immediately. But be wary, the idiots back home might try to find a way to hang you for disobeying orders somehow." The senior officer leant back. "I hope you know what you're doing."

Adama followed suit as he himself leant back, "All things considered Admiral they want me out of the service for doing my job so to be frank I don't really care."

_**Church Of Jesus Christ Our Saviour**_

_**Houston**_

_**Texas**_

"We are gathered here under the sight of god to put to rest the mortal body of one George Sinclair Hammond."

It had been less than forty eight hours after his death that the world had been informed as to the loss of General Hammond to heart attack. The military arms of the majority of the alliance nations had included black armbands on the uniforms of both military and civilian personnel. Several countries had gone so far as to lower their own national flags as a day of mourning in memory of the man. The dissemination of his records as both commander of Homeworld Security and a slightly more edited version of his time with Stargate Command had been made available. Once it had been confirmed that the General had been lost, the IOA and SGC in a moment of weakness on both parts completely agreed that the man should have a hero's funeral. His home city of Houston was chosen as the location for the ceremony. Even though it was known that Hammond would not and in fact did not want a fuss made of his passing the senior officers of his former commands knew the political aspects that such a funeral would bring.

Now a week after his passing the largest church in Houston was packed to standing room with a multitude of family, friends, allies and loved ones. It had been the request of the family and agreed upon by the President himself that Hammond be allowed to rest alongside his wife, daughter and parents at their side in Texas as opposed to being buried at Arlington National Cemetery as was the custom for those lost while still on active duty.

The front rows were filled with Hammond's children, grand children and remaining immediate family. Included among them was each of the members of SG-1 active during his tenure in command. Jack, Sam, Daniel and Teal'c were accompanied by Jonas Quinn, Cadet Jon O'Neill, and Cassandra Frasier. Most of the SG-1 males alongside Hammond's son in law and brother had been chosen as pall bearers. Sam Carter had volunteered her place to be taken by Paul Davis her height difference making it far more difficult for her to join the rest as bearers.

Behind the front two rows sat members of the SGC, Homeworld Security and other commands that the General had led over his years in uniform. These were followed by members of the IOA, the United States Air Force, dignitaries and leaders of the Western Allies. Members of races from off world including the injured and exhausted Tollans, the leaders of the Free Jaffa Nation, the hebridans, a multitude of humans from dozens of worlds that knew of and respected the man as well as the rank were there to pay their respects.

At the far end several of the SGC's finest were decked out in their dress uniforms. Warrant Officer Siler, Chief Master Sergeant Harriman and their significant others had volunteered their services as ushers for the funeral both forgoing their deserved seats on the front row to other members of the SGC family.

"General Jack O'Neill will now read the eulogy as requested by the family of George."

"As many know I am a man of few words." He glanced up and around before looking back at the audience. Several of which were suppressing smiles or out and out laughter at that moment. "Usually If I say something like that, I get abducted by aliens but I guess Thor's a little busy right now.

General George Hammond was above all a great man. Under his command we got away with doing a lot more stuff than anyone else could, maybe because he liked us the most or maybe because he gave up trying to control us completely as we would end up going over his head anyway to get the job done."

"I didn't really know just what we were doing to him until after I accepted my first star and took over from him. For months I wasn't sure what I was doing even with help from those people who had supported him before me. Every time I was about ready to hand in my stars and go back to field work I began to write a letter, each time getting a little further before destroying it. Each time I wondered what George would do in my position before I remembered what he had done. Each time I did, I tried to emulate him and you know, sometimes it worked – sometimes, it didn't. So one day I stopped trying to do what George would do and did what Jack would do. I told him about this a few weeks after I took over Homeworld Command from him and he said, 'I did the same thing.'"

The people in the audience nodded in agreement after all even as a General Hammond had had to learn things the hard way. O'Neill had become somewhat of an unofficial protégé of the senior General, leading Jack to follow in his footsteps as the most influential and experienced officer in the multi-armed space and ground alien defence command. Jack's way of doing things was far different form Hammond's. That included his personal life. While unable to pursue a long term personal relationship unlike his former boss, O'Neill had made up for that by cultivating long lasting friendships with people in his different commands.

"As a commander, George Hammond did everything he could to make sure than we all stayed alive and mostly intact, even facing down other officers, politicians and self proclaimed gods. Men like the General were and still are a rare and precious commodity in life. Everything that he was willing to do or if necessary force others to do was in the best traditions of a man who was both a great officer and a great man. Without George the world as we know it wouldn't be standing here. Every day that we spend breathing, living and surviving we need to remember it was because of men like George that we have the chance to do so."

"As a subordinate he was fair and gave us leeway that we never would have under any other commander. As a man, as a friend, there are few that could have been any better and even less that I would have trusted with my life," Jack completed. "Rest easy General; we've got it from here."

Stepping down from the pulpit, Jack handed off to the next in line to speak for the General. From the second row, Henry Hayes stood and passed the General thanking him on the way through before standing in front of the people. Unlike Jack however he didn't have any paper or ready speech for the man he had known for almost forty years. Stepping up, he looked around at the assembled men and women of the congregation

"George Hammond was an old school kind of a man," President Hayes began. "From the get go he was a good officer, a good man and a fine pilot. Having known the man since basic training we had kept in touch throughout our careers and it was to my detriment that I lost contact with him once I left the service. In becoming president I was to discover my old friend commanding the front line of an undeclared war against an alien race or three."

"Now I will admit this had me confused and not a little afraid at what the United States had got into, especially when I found out we had a very large enemy fleet heading right for Earth only a few weeks into my administration. But finding out that an old friend had made it to the top of his profession at the same time I was made me realise that maybe we had a chance. George Hammond willingly took charge of a small but growing part of our military and turned it into the most powerful arm of any armed forces in the world. He could have turned it down and I would have had him retake his old command, but even after giving him that choice he didn't take it."

"George had realised at that point that he knew he hadn't many more years in the big chair to impart his experience and knowledge to those that were coming after him. Stepping down from his command in favour of his successor Jack O'Neill, he took over Homeworld Command and began restructuring it as best he could in the time he had left. Once again however he stood down only eighteen months later to allow General O'Neill to take over as his replacement. Each time he left a well organised and expanding command for his successors to maintain. He himself had been able to teach them what they needed to know to complete his work."

"His passing has meant the loss of a great man and one that was at the forefront of the fight against enemies both foreign and domestic. As a friend for almost forty years this is a personal loss to my family and myself. It is with high hopes that we remember George Hammond for the man, the officer and the Gentleman that he was. Thank you," Hayes finished up.

Surprising to most, the next to stand to speak wasn't someone who had known Hammond as well as the others or as long as most but had been a soldier himself for a long time. Bre'tac took the dais and moved up so the rest of the church could see him. Dressed in his finest robes complete with skullcap and sash he had begun to look like the elder statesman that he had become.

"I met Hammond of Texas very soon after his warriors defeated the false god Apophis for the first time. In my arrogance I believed that those under his charge were unable to be of any threat to the system lords. It was with gladness that I was to change my mind when those same warriors fought by my side as well and as bravely as any Jaffa that I had ever come into conflict with."

"Meeting George Hammond, I was pleased to realise that he was a fair and good leader that kept his people well. Even with no reason to trust neither myself nor my own apprentice, he was willing to listen and assist us with what we needed to survive. Few, if any other races that I have come across would be so willing to stand beside a former enemy. Hammond of Texas and O'Neill have both mentioned a saying in the language of the Tau'ri. 'My enemy's enemy is my friend.' My enemy was once anyone who would defy my god, now my enemy is anyone who could cause harm to my friends. Hammond of Texas was one of these few people that I could claim as a friend and he will be missed as that friend but also as a warrior and leader beyond few that I have known."

"For the people that knew him for far longer than myself, I grieve with you. He was a brother in arms responsible for leading those who would lead my people to their freedom from those who enslaved us. As a people we grieve for you as brothers and sisters. As a nation, we grieve with you as you would for the loss of a great man. Hammond of Texas will not be forgotten by the Jaffa people nor by those who will come after us, nor those who will come after them." Bre'tac bowed his head. "I thank you for allowing me this chance to bid farewell to a friend. It is something I rarely have the chance to do."

Stepping down he approached the family of George Hammond and spoke quietly to the General's sole surviving child No-one could hear the exchange but a brief and heartfelt smile appeared on the faces of both human woman and Jaffa male. Taking his leave the much older man retook his place in the second row allowing the next person to take their place at the front of the church.

"I knew George Hammond for a great many years," Sam Carter began. "As an old friend of my father he had been an aspect of my life for more than three decades. When I entered the Air Force, he willingly sponsored me as a favour to my father allowing me to enter the Academy at the same time as I attempted to complete my education. I didn't see the General again for several years until well after beginning my training as a pilot. George Hammond commanded the tactical wing that was training the majority of pilots that had made it that far."

"All my life I had known him as Uncle George, then the Colonel, and the General. But even so he watched my career with interest until one day I was privileged enough to join a unit under his command. I didn't know it at the time but it would change my life completely. General Hammond tapped me for a project that while I had been working on for several years had gone nowhere until then. Ten years later and I stand here saying goodbye to a man who helped to shape everything about my life and my career, a man that I owe a debt to that can never be repaid," Sam teared up slightly. "I'll miss you Uncle George, we'll remember you."

The rest of the ceremony continued on allowing the family of Hammond a chance to say a final goodbye before moving on. As much as it was a highly publicised event, the funeral itself wasn't that long and within two hours the bearers walked up to the coffin before picked it up carefully. Shoulders locked and in step the six men walked down the central aisle of the church and out into the sunshine outside. Two long lines of mourners unable to get seats within the church were outside behind barriers were finally given the opportunity to give their final respects.

High above out of sight of the mourners the Daedalus was constantly scanning the area for anything that would put a dampener on the day. So far, no signs of explosives, guns, energy weapons, chemicals or any other kind of weapon were in the area. It seemed that even the more hardliner types had decided against trying to martyr themselves at the funeral of one of the allied leaders.

Settling the coffin on the gun wagon the bearers were joined by the significant others, close friends and family before they began walking behind the carriage. Hammond's family was directly behind it with SG1 plus Davis, Harriman and Siler in two ranks behind them. The slow moving wagon passed through the throng of mourners. Soldiers from each of his commands stood to attention as they passed by, almost two hundred men and women holding a salute for their lost General.

A minute later they passed by the military ranks and past civilian members of staff from the SGC, the IOA, Homeworld Security and simple well-wishers. Even with the knowledge that a number of people blamed Hammond and O'Neill for what happened during the first battles of the war few people were heartless or stupid enough to picket the funeral. Even several of the more vocal cults of the western world had stayed their hand leaving the man to rest in peace.

"Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust."

The padre continued the funeral as the congregation stood around the plot, the bearers easing the coffin into place as he proceeded with the last rites. Most of the assembled around the grave bowed their head praying or otherwise paying respects to the General.

*CRACK*

Seven marines of the SGC's third team stood to the side Colonel Reynolds in front of them ordering the twenty one gun salute to his former commanding officer. Twice more the rifles fired completing their work and standing back to full attention. A quick double click on a hidden radio transmitter in his glove Reynolds informed the Daedalus' fighter wing to commence their run.

Diving down from several thousand feet five F-302s, the Commanding Officers of the five United States Starfighter Wings flew past the funeral high enough to be respectful and low enough to be seen by the assembled crowd. As they flew above a single fighter pulled away from the formation as the rest continued on, a perfect missing man formation. It was a long-standing given to astronauts and pilots lost in action, or for heroes lost in any circumstance. Bowing their heads one last time the assembled friends and family prayed for the General before most began leaving the graveside.

"Thank you, George," Jack O'Neill whispered, "for everything."

_**The Crucible**_

_**Eight and a half hours later.**_

For Davis it had been far easier and faster to leave the funeral and wake than arriving, meaning that within half an hour of leaving he was back at the Crucible and his quarters. The loss of Hammond, the reports on the Hannibal and her imminent deployment, the usual fleet manoeuvres, and by no means least the long and difficult briefing with the IOA, meant that Davis was dead on his feet.

Dropping down heavily on his bed Paul rubbed his face trying to stay awake as long as possible. Hammond had been a good man and had never had a problem with Davis' position as a political appointee by the Pentagon to the SGC. In fact he had made him feel more than welcome during his time as liaison to the top secret project, more so when Paul had been detached from his position within the SGC/Pentagon office to the small but well funded Home world Security section.

Two years later he had found himself as the defacto second in command of the Crucible and by and large Home world Security giving him a position of authority over personnel, one, two or even three ranks above him. It was only a few weeks into the job when he realised he had been groomed by both Generals, a job that he had been told was a temporary position for a year to integrate the defences and command structures of the Allied nations involved in the war.

The year had come around and even with the relative completion of the Crucible and the shipyards close by there was no sign of a replacement. He hadn't said anything yet but he believed that O'Neill and Hayes hadn't bothered to find a replacement anyway. That both bothered Davis and made him feel vindicated in his job. If he wasn't to be replaced then he wouldn't push the matter.

*WHAM WHAM WHAM*

His eyes shot open after what seemed to be only moments later. Finding himself horizontal and face down on his duvet, he looked up at the softly glowing face of the clock on his bedside cabinet. Six hours had passed since he had returned to the Command Center and almost five and a half of that he had been asleep, unaware he had even dozed off. The Colonel stood up and opened his door to the equally tired looking face of his immediate superior.

"Sir?"

"Fall asleep, Colonel?"

"Yes, sir."

"Yeah, same here." O'Neill looked as weary as he felt. "Come on, we've got an appointment."

"Who with?"

"Some French place and a guy called Jack," O'Neill said as he waited for his exec to tidy himself up. He'd fallen asleep at his desk in uniform enough times to know that he'd not really look his best when they left. Hell, he'd been asleep in his dress uniform until a few minutes ago. Jack sighed as the younger officer fumbled for the slightly wrinkled uniform jacket. "Forget the uniform, just grab a jacket."

Grabbing a leather jacket from the back of a chair Paul walked out the door closing it behind him and followed the General through the tunnels of the underground command post and up to the transporter station. On their way up Jack explained the reasoning for the appointment and what was about to happen. Davis remembered the meetings only a few months ago and had readily agreed with the idea.

Jack had obviously pre-planned this as it was only moments later that the two officers found themselves on the deserted and half-derelict Odyssey. Even at the dead of night, the station that the ship was still docked to was running at full capacity. The other ships of the fleet currently docked were undergoing supply or crew rotation. Three Apollos and a Prometheus could be seen on their side of the former colonial ship, however the area around and on the Odyssey itself was strangely silent and deserted.

Davis looked around the bridge as his eyes adapted to the slightly brighter lights of the ship. Power being piped from the station allowed the lights to shine at maximum brightness very much unlike the usual dimmed lighting of an underway vessel. Several other people were already aboard the ship while another handful appeared in similar flashes of light on the other side of the bridge.

"General, Colonel." Sam Carter greeted them both, "Good to see you both."

"General."

Davis looked at her, the blonde looked as tired as the rest, the bags under her eyes slightly reddened from her tears. Sam had lost a long time friend and commander only a year or so after her father had passed.

"You too Carter? Everyone here?"

"Just waiting on Daniel, sir."

"Cool."

Paul surveyed the room as the two former team-mates spoke. Cassie and Jon were both looking out the windows of the bridge at the planet below not paying much attention to the rest of the goings on. Teal'c and his mentor were standing talking to Captains Satterfield, Grogan and Haley, while Quinn, Siler, Harriman and McKay were chatting about something or other. The gesturing of both the scientist and technician evidence that they had found that they agreed on whatever it was that they were talking about. Finally a last flash brought another figure onto the bridge completing the group.

"Daniel, it's about time."

"Sorry Jack. It seems that travelling so far so fast and attending a funeral didn't agree with Narim. He's asleep."

"Is he ok?" Sam asked.

"He's at the SGC infirmary, he'll be alright," Daniel confirmed. "We all here?"

"Yep," Jack announced. "Alright everyone, this is something that to be honest we were expecting but really hoped that we wouldn't have to see anytime soon. Yesterday we lost a great man, someone who had been the guiding light of Stargate Command. His dedication and self sacrifice allowed us to keep on going even when our bosses kept trying to shut us down. Helping to build Home world Security before handing it over meant I didn't have to do too much work when I took over. If I'd have known how it could change my life… I still might have thought of turning it down."

Gesturing to the window, he asked the assembled guests to assemble at the front of the bridge. Outside, a single new DSC-304 sat at the other end of the battle station. It's hull the usual dark gray of the Tau'ri fleet but without the scars and patches that the rest of the fleet had in abundance.

"She looks a little different," Jon said. "She's not the same as the others."

"Nope. She's slightly bigger, faster and more has powerful engines both in hyperspace and out there," Jack gestured. "We've scrapped all the missiles except the forward launchers and the drop bay underneath and added more guns instead. She has a double quartet of plasma cannon turrets on the flanks and pop up rail gun turrets in place of the missile launchers. The rest of the space is more ammo for the big guns and another reactor to run the rest. The Orbanians decided to throw in with us completely this time, they've been working on this version for years, but it's a little tetchy."

"That's quite a ship," McKay replied. "Can we have one?"

"Who's her commander?" Sam asked ignoring him.

"Don't have one yet and maybe in a year or so, McKay. We need them back here."

"She's a prototype so she won't be in service for a while," informed Davis, remembering a meeting with the Joint Chiefs as well as O'Neill and his then exec before Davis had taken his place. "About a year ago Home world Security created a dossier on possible names for the fleet. While most national fleets would end up with names that were more suited to their own naval vessels we wanted some that would end up named for something else. The Prometheus was followed by Daedalus then the Apollo and Phoenix, the British have named theirs for former heroic vessels, the Russians and Chinese for historical figures. However in recent months we've tried to steer away from the usual political options of former Presidents or other historical figures in order to make sure we don't alienate too many people. But, a small smattering of names was kept because of their connections to the fleet and its precursors."

Jack smiled for the first time. "We needed something to show the world that we're fighting together against a common enemy. Right now the Russians are demanding a raid on the Colonial capital planet with a barrage of Mark IXs, China want to beam troops behind enemy lines as raiding parties, and our own congress want to keep our heads buried in the sand and blast the hell out of our enemies without leaving the solar system."

O'Neill stepped over to the left hand control console and pressed a button on the main board. "With that in mind and with the agreement of the President, the rest of the Joint Chiefs, the Heads of States and senior command staff of the British, Chinese, French and Russian Fleets one ship of every country's next production flight will be secured by Home world Security and merged into a single command. The Phoenix was to be the flagship of the new combined fleet with another four ships joining her in the next eight months, A Russian Daedalus, one each of the British modified classes from the UK and Canada and a French Prometheus. The entire group will be dedicated to taking the fight to the Colonials while the rest of the fleet will stay at home." the IOA don't know about that bit yet." Jack's predatory smile was one of pure evil.

"You said it was to be the flagship Jack?" Daniel asked as another flash of light appeared next to O'Neill. "What happened?"

"Life happened Daniel. The name Phoenix is no longer on the records as a ship of the Earth fleet." Jack picked up a flute of champagne from the recently arrived tray and handed it to Daniel, the others all took one each or handed them to the others. "The Phoenix as she was was still undergoing final outfitting and supply before her shakedown. Most of her ident codes, paint jobs etc aren't yet in place so we changed its name to fit with the new fleet."

"Usually it's bad luck to rename a ship once it's been completed but I think that the change will bring us a lot more luck than we've got at the moment. Knowledge of the ship's new mission and name will be disseminated from the Crucible to the other defence bases and the world at large when she's commissioned in a few weeks."

"So with that over with Ladies, Gentleman and Jaffa, I give to you the newest and most powerful Daedalus Class Deep Space Carrier in the fleet." He raised his glass towards the brand new and unbloodied DSC-304. "The General George Hammond."

_**Resurrection Hub**_

_**Unknown System**_

_**Cylon Space-Four months Earlier**_

_She felt it again as something punched through her stomach the force crushing the very life from her body as if something squeezed and ruptured her delicate organs as it ripped a scream of agony from her throat before it pulled up tearing through her chest destroying her heart. Blackness took over as she looked at the face of her attacker, a human face with a snarling smirk triumphant in its actions._

Natalie sat up in shock her body shaking and exhausted chest heaving from the nightmare, resting her right hand above her heart making sure that it was there and still in one piece. Taking a deep breath she brushed sweat soaked hair from her face. Whatever had happened on the destroyed Basestar had been horrific if the memory was still managing to find its way through from what passed for a Cylon's subconscious. It was something that they hadn't been expecting when they had been transferred from their purely mechanical bodies to this cyborg existence. It seemed that while a percentage of her main memory had been lost in the transfer, almost the entirety of her subconscious had survived.

"Nightmare?" One of the other threes sat up from beside her. "We all get them after resurrection."

"This was the first time I'd been through a forced resurrection instead of being ready for it," Natalie replied. "I didn't realise it would be so difficult."

"It can be, especially considering how difficult it was to bring you back from the ether," the Three said rubbing the taller woman's back. "What was it about?"

"The attack on the Basestar, we must have been boarded somehow." Natalie closed her eyes resting her fingers against them gently. "The Eight took a bullet to the head almost decapitating her. Someone punched something into my stomach ripping me apart. I felt the pain again as it killed me. I saw a face, a human face leering at me as he did it."

"Wait! A human did this?" One of the Fours spoke from the doorway. "Sorry I heard you from the corridor."

"It's okay," Natalie replied. "The Colonials hit my ship as soon as we reverted from the jump. We barely got any shots off before their fighters annihilated our weapons."

Her eyes widened as the impact of this possibility came clear to her. In shock, she looked at Three and Four. "They were on board the ship, they know about us."

"Frak, if they know we biological models exist…" Four began.

"Then they will be on the lookout for us now," Three finished. "How many models were on your ship?"

"Just me and an Eight."

"We need to contact the rest of the models. The Sixes and Eights might have been compromised. We need to get them out of the colonies before someone manages to pin them down," Four replied. "I'll inform the home world and the resurrection ships for possible mass download."

"This can't be happening," Natalie whispered. "We've barely started infiltrating the colonies and now we'll have to start again somehow."

"There are only a few of your line and even less of the Eights; the colonials have almost fifty billion people to check through. If it's bad enough that we have to pull them all out we can reintroduce them after a few years." Three replied, "It's not your fault. You couldn't have known the Colonials would find you so fast."

"But how did they find us? The ship was running silent and we were outside of Colonial lines. They had no reason to be there and no reason to think that we were ready to approach the Tau'ri. Why were there enough fighters there to destroy one of our heaviest ships?"

"Maybe they had units all around that area. They must have believed we'd try to talk to the Tau'ri once we knew of them. After all they must be scared of an alliance between the Cylon Race and the Earth Humans."

"Maybe, but what can we do? The humans of the twelve colonies know about us. Every infiltration, every project and every plan we have ready will have to be cancelled ruining everything we've done in the last year." Natalie sighed. "It is my fault, we've been waiting decades for this chance and now it's all gone up in smoke."

"Why would you have taken the Basestar on the mission without permission Natalie? You're one of our best infiltrators."

"I didn't, at least I don't remember it that way. I remember being allowed to do so by a consensus."

"The home world says otherwise," the returning Four announced as he entered the room. "We've entered orbit."

_**Warstar Hades**_

_**Decommissioned Colonial Class Warstar**_

_**Nova Madigon Bone yards**_

"So are we done here? The Admiralty wants this thing pulled out of the yard for rebuilding at Caprica. We've been waiting months for you people to finish your work."

"Alright, yes we've got everything that we can get out of this thing. She'll be released to you within the day," Colonel Georgiou replied. "I need you to understand that if anybody says a word about what was found here, they will be rounded up and charged with dissemination of classified information. I will then have them shot."

"Alright Colonel, listen carefully. We are professionals and very good at our jobs. The fact is that the only reason you know about this stuff is because we found and let you know about it. Maybe next time the JAG and your cronies in the guard service will find out whoever stole this shit before they can sell it. Now get off my ship I've got work to do."

"Alright, the ship's yours but if you find anything we might have missed you inform the local JAG office at Caprica and they'll let me know."

"Yeah, alright. Oh, and you ever try to threaten my men again and I'll thump you into the deck plate."

At the other end of the now completely empty flight pod, the members of the original team looked at each other as their boss turned from the JAG officer and headed their way. The Sagitatton native was steaming at the implication that his people would be hiding or willing to hide anything that they found. The threat at the end was not only unnecessary but it had left the Chief fighting to keep from punching the man, officer or not.

"Alright, people. We've got the go to move this junk pile. Get up to CIC and run the program. Conoy, Prior, you come with me we need to get this thing moving."

The Twenty man crew dispersed to their assigned stations ignoring the JAG officers as they hustled into their shuttles and readied for takeoff. A last few would use a larger ship docked to one of the outside airlocks. Once undocked, the hatches would automatically seal. Leaving the cavernous bays the salvage team trudged their way through kilometres of corridors and walkways to get to their destinations.

Almost two hours later the miniscule team had managed to bring the necessary systems online. The months of work dodging the forensics teams, shoring up failing relays and replacing blown components the salvage teams that had assisted them had got the old girl in good enough shape to bring her online and ready for launch.

"All sections this is engineering, the main energy systems are operational," the first group called over the comms. "Primary Tylium generator at fifty percent. I don't want to risk any more than that, Boss."

"CIC is online, network systems are active. FTL course is input and ready."

"This is FTL control, we're ready to go. Set the clock," the Chief ordered.

"Ten seconds to jump; program is running."

Moments later the Warstar and its small crew jumped from the bone yards to its destination, one that it wasn't expecting to be. Mere moments after arrival the Warstar powered down, the computers erasing themselves before closing off the DRADIS and main power systems."

"Uhh boss, we got a problem."

"Dammit! What the frak are you idiots doing up there?" The chief shouted. "We're down to emergency power."

"Everything's shut down except the emergency systems and the comms… and we've got three Battlestars with guns pointing right at us."

"Where the hell did we jump then?"

"I dunno, boss. You wanna come up here and ask?" the voice came back. "I'm not even gonna think about touching anything up here."

"Alright, I'll be fifteen minutes. We need to get the trams fixed on this damn thing."

Ten minutes later and almost three quarters of the way to the other end of the ship the entire Warstar shuddered, causing the FTL crew to look at each other before increasing speed to the CIC. Another few minutes passed as they made their way through the central corridors of the ship to the far end, pausing only to open up sealed doorways. By the time the three had arrived most of the rest of the crew were already there.

"Boss?"

"Yeah, I know they've docked."

"Yeah they wanted us to let them in."

"And?"

"I said I needed to wait for you to get back. You're the boss…Boss."

"Alright put me on the comms." He picked up the phone. "Hello."

"_This is Commander Augustine of the Battlestar Valiant heading Battlestar Group 73."_

"Chief Warrant Officer Krychek of Colonial Fleet Salvage Team Nineteen, guess you were expecting us."

"_Affirmative Chief, sorry about this but your people are to head to the ground forces barracks officer's quarters and lock yourself in there. The ship will then be crewed by fleet personnel and you will be escorted elsewhere, please do not look out of any windows, portholes or try to get the DRADIS active as you are now in a very restricted area and any attempt to find out where you are will result in permanent incarceration."_

"Received Commander… mind if I ask you a question, sir?"

"_Make it quick."_

"Which continent, sir?"

Krychek could almost hear the smile in the other man's voice as he spoke. _"Eastern Chief, Trojan City."_

"Thank you, sir. We'll get right on it."

"_You too Chief, Valiant Actual out."_

"That was weird," Prior said. "We gonna do as he said boss…Boss?"

"Yes we do as he said. Everyone grab your gear and head for the officers quarters in the barracks," The Chief replied. "Conoy take big mouth here and grab the food stocks from the hanger bay. I don't know how long we're gonna be here."

"Yes, Boss."

"Big mouth I… ahhh!" Prior's voice shrieked higher and then out of range as Conoy grabbed him by the neck pulling him out the CIC door. Letting go of the other man Leoben stalked down the corridor. Out of all the things he was expecting, to be thrown into what was basically a gilded cage not knowing where they were and without the Chief putting up a fight wasn't something he was expecting.

"What the hell's wrong with you?" Prior shouted rubbing his neck. "That frakking hurt."

"Then shut up before you get hurt again," Conoy snapped.

A few minutes passed as they continued down to the hanger bay before they were pulled back to the ship's marine section.

"I wanna know why the Chief was willing to give that up without a fight," Prior complained. "The Marine Barracks are in worse condition that the rest of the ship. Remember that rotting whatever it was we found in the showers or what about the fact someone hadn't cleaned out the fridge."

"He gave it up because he talked to a Commander he respected," Conoy racked his brain. "The Valiant… Valiant…"

"Type Three Beta, heavier missile batteries than the Alphas," Prior said as his friend looked at him incredulously. "Alright, so I know the difference between the types of ship, what the big deal?"

"You're a spotter." Conoy grinned.

"What?"

"You're a ship spotter. I bet you can tell me when she was built and where."

"No…"

"Prior…"

"Caprica Yards, three years ago."

"I knew it," Leoben laughed out loud. "This why you joined the salvage teams?"

"Alright, yes it is; you got me. But look at some of these things man, history come alive and now we're getting to look them over to see if we can bring them back into service. There are millions of people who want to be where I am right now. Even in a half scrapped, thirty year old ship the people I know people I talk to would be willing to bribe, kill or sleep with me for a chance to walk around this thing." Prior gestured around him. "Living history in one piece, man. Look at it."

"It's a broken down old Warstar, Dave." Leoben shook his head. "The damn thing's barely moving as it is. Now come on we've got food to get."

"Yeah, but I know something else. I know who its Commander is."

"Yeah I heard, Augustine."

"Yeah and the city he's from."

"Trojan City… wait, he's Sagittaron?"

"Yeah, why do you think the boss was so willing to talk to him and obey his orders?" The two men passed through a last hatch into a small area the team had grabbed for themselves while rebuilding and reactivating the necessary systems to get the ship going. Boxes and bags of supplies were dumped onto a trolley while water pitchers, bottle and a few more 'contraband' bits and pieces that they had brought on board, or found while running around.

Conoy carefully pulled a bottle from a cubbyhole he had left it in away from everyone else carefully unwrapping it from the plastic and cloth he had wrapped it in. While mooching around the lower decks he had found the original CAG's office before its last refit which moved it closer to the port side of the ship instead of the ridiculous idea of putting it almost in the middle of the ship. Brushing a hand over the bottle he traced the year of the bottle, the same year that the Cylon war had begun. A strange feeling came over him as he looked at the bottle, almost as if it wasn't real. But, he blinked away the thought before covering the bottle back up and stashing it in one of the boxes. Their personal gear was already back aboard the shuttles that brought their supplies aboard but he wouldn't trust the main line fleeters not to help themselves to something they found and could claim was left behind.

"Alright, we've got all the stuff we have left. Food, Drink, the Chief's damn cigars and anything else I thought might be useful. Should we grab a fridge while we're at it?"

"No time. The fled will be boarding soon," Conoy replied. "Let's just move it."

Taking longer than the first trip the two crewmen pulled, pushed and dragged the trolley through the corridors before the crews of the docking ships began to pour through the airlocks. They barely made it to the marine quarters before sealing the doors. Leaning back against the door they could hear the boots of several of the newly arrived fleet personnel thundering past and down the corridors towards the engines.

"Frak, that was close." Prior said looking around the empty bunk room. "Boss?"

"In here." The voice came from the mess room at the rear the chief looked up as the two men walked in having left the trolley out next to the bunks and dropping into their chairs. "You two look like shit."

"We just missed our stop, had to find a cab," Conoy snarked. "We've got the gear in the bunk room. What's in here?"

"Nothing, not even mattresses."

"Great." Conoy rolled his eyes. "What now?"

"Now we wait." The Chief laid back in his chair relaxing. "Nothing else to do."

"Yeah, but they want us to stay here. Shouldn't we ask for something to sleep on maybe?"

"Use the bunks."

"With no mattress or blankets?" Prior complained. "Then what?"

"We stay here until we're relieved or told to leg it. We've got an FTL shuttle still down in the hanger so we'll leave when we're told to." Krychek nodded at the chairs and then the table with a pyramid deck on it. "Now sit down and deal the cards."

None of them noticed the slight shiver that went through their compatriot before he sat down at the table and scooped up his hand. Furthermore none of them noticed the flicker of uncertainty and discomfort that went through his eyes.

Least of all Conoy himself.

_**CIC**_

_**Warstar Hades**_

_**Colonial Class Warstar**_

_**Deep Space**_

_**Six hours later**_

"The ship is secure, sir. The salvage team are secure in the marine quarters as you ordered," Augustine spoke into the phone attached to his desk. "All necessary sections are manned. It'll take a while to search every single nook and cranny of this thing but we'll be sure that there are no tracking devices of any kind."

"_Good, there have been far too many people on that ship in the last six months. Anything could have been put aboard."_ Admiral Ah-mun responded from his command ship. _"The salvage crew are to be put off at the first chance. If necessary jump the Warstar to one of the outer planets and put them and their shuttle off there. You are not to allow them to know where you are going nor where that ship is being transferred to_."

"I would like the chance to have them checked over. In addition to my own salvage teams, the team managed to rebuild enough of the Warstar's systems to move it from the Cimtar Yards out here with enough power to return it back to the station while being given the end-run by the White-Caps."

"_Alright James, I'll give you that chance but not right now. Put them off near Madeline Station and then get that ship back to base. I'll send the request when we send off the next set of reports back home."_

"Yes, sir."

"_Warrior Actual out."_

"Mister Kraif, please bring up a jump course to Madeline Station and take us there as soon as possible. I'll be meeting with the salvage team in their quarters," Ah-Mun ordered. "Order the Valiant alongside and send them the course."

"It'll be a few minutes, Sir. The main course charts are still being installed."

"Very well, continue as ordered."

Several minutes later the Commander found himself outside the Marine officer quarters and tapped on the door. As the door opened he was gestured in by the off-duty crewmen. Like almost every other capital ship in the Colonial fleet the Warstar was a massive and heavily built ship. As such, what space was available inside the solid, thick hull was at a premium and the marine barracks more so than the fleet barracks.

The majority of the marines slept in large scale accommodation. Hundreds fit into a space that barely one hundred crewmen were supposed to fit due to the belief that the Marines wouldn't need as much space. That erroneous supposition was because it was assumed they wouldn't be on board for long enough to need anything more. The Cylon War had changed that belief, allowing for more space to be allocated from shipboard marines and army personnel attached to the vessels of the fleet. The expansion of the Marine fleet during and post war however had changed the need for anything more than a smaller detachment on board the fleet capital ships.

Even the officers, including their senior officer, had also stayed in smaller accommodations of between two and six to a berth. Looking around, the Commander could see the smaller rooms to the sides with a separate mess hall and galley. A weapons locker was open and a few odds and sods already stashed away to get them off the floor. The rest were still in boxes off to the side.

Looking back up at the crewmen, he strode through the doorway and came face to face with his fellow Sagittaron Native

"Warrant Officer Krychek."

"Sir."

"At ease Mister. My orders are to gather your people and situate you back on your shuttle before sending you home."

"This ship was supposed to be going to Caprica."

"Yes it was, now it's headed elsewhere. I apologise for your treatment but it couldn't be helped," Augustine replied. "Once we have jumped, you'll be able to head back to the Salvage Corps HQ on Sagittaron."

"Yes sir, anything else?"

"No that's about it. Thank you for your time."

"Anytime, sir."

"I may well hold you to that, Mister."

Barely a dozen or two meters away a small splash followed a flush of the toilet, a small flashing light disappeared into the recycling system before anyone could see it. Standing up from where he had heaved then vomited the tracker into the bowl. The blank faced dead eyes figure of Leoben Conoy stared at the mirror on the wall before shaking his head and coming to.

"Whoa, what?" He blinked at his surroundings in confusion before noticing a small amount of bile left on the refilling latrine. Still slightly bewildered at his sudden appearance he walked out of the latrines slightly addled. "Next time say no to Prior's cooking."

End of Book 1

Finally got there at the end, every thread that I have left that I needed to tie up to a certain point have finally made it to that point. The next book will begin with a time jump of six weeks or so into the future to push the story along.

I believe that 25 chapters and around three hundred thousand words is good for any story, let alone one that wasn't supposed to last more than sixty of seventy to begin with, the story is far from over I just believe here and now is the best time to end the first volume of the story.

I haven't decided whether to start a new thread/story post on the websites that I have this published on but I am still writing and should have another up sooner or later (hopefully sooner, so let's plough on and see what happens.


	24. Book 2 Chapter One

**_Book Two _**

**_Chapter 1 (22)_**

**_SIX WEEKS LATER_**

**_IOA Headquarters_**

**_Geneva_**

Well that could have gone better.

"No absolutely not, there is no way in hell that this can be allowed," the chairman bellowed.

"I have to agree, this is out of the question," another replied, "The problems that are already obvious with the number of different command structures in the combined armed forces has already caused problems with the defence of this world, now you expect us to agree on another command structure above and beyond that we have."

"Councillor, the First Fleet is the first step to combining as many of the forces as we can gather into a complete and stable command. If the ships of this fleet are able to work in concert as a cornerstone of the Earth's defences then other squadrons will be formed and attached to that group." Davis looked to each of the assembled IOA. "The fact is that we have tacit approval by the United States Air Force, Royal Air Force and Royal Navy, People Republic of China, the Canadian Armed Forces, and the German Republic Navy to add other ships to a combined command if the experiment will succeed."

Paul had been arguing the case for the combined defence force for more than a week of meeting across the world, the completion of four of the assigned ships and their working up had taken up even more time for the Crucible and its personnel. As the exec, he had been at the forefront of the new command structure, helping to rebuild one section or another to incorporate the first fleet. Fortunately the idea of fleet actions had been built into the plans for the Command Centre and the secondary command section was easily transferred for purely fleet use.

The problem was simply that the IOA members didn't like the idea of a combined command involving vessels belonging to their countries, a problem that was mirrored by more than one of the commanders of the countries involved. It had taken several months and a hell of a lot of favours owed and pulled in to allow for even the small number of ships now in the fleet to be given the go ahead. Even with the final outfitting going ahead there were still problems crewing and keeping those crews aboard the Defence Force warships.

Several believed that it would be detrimental to their countries and their security to allow officers of other nation's command of their warships or starfighters. Problems already existed with the main commands being wholly controlled by the United States and United Kingdom with the next layer of ground defences being controlled by the nations that receive them. More complaints had been made from other countries about the fact that their enemies would have access to weapons that could be used against them as much as it could against a Colonial attack.

The Hammond and its assigned ships would still be added to a single flotilla but under a commander chosen by the Crucible instead of a political appointee that the IOA would force on them. However it was already obvious that in order to continue the expansion of the idea that the IOA would need to be brought over to their way of thinking, the end-runs that the SGC and HWS had already pulled on the Oversight Authority was beginning to erode the power that they had over the space based forces.

While the countries involved were for the most part unwilling to turn down any request for personnel, supplies or equipment needed by the fleet there would come a time where the politicos in the higher ranks of the IOA would start to have sway over those same forces again. After only fifteen months after the attack the world was still attempting to make good the damage caused to the planet by the nukes. Entire cultures had been wiped out across the world including much of the Mediterranean and a small number of smaller islands throughout the world.

The people were demanding to be protected and none of the countries involved in the military build up were willing to say no to more warships, however the damage done to the relationship between the armed forces and the oversight council could make things problematic as the war progressed. As such Colonel Davis had agreed to go before the IOA council in an attempt to persuade them to agree to the expansion of the fleet into a single command.

"Tacit approval is not complete agreement Colonel. The ships of the fleet are currently held by those governments alone and many will not allow their own fleets to merge into one force. I agree that we need to create a combined command structure as we have seen in other wars but I disagree that we require what you ask," the Chinese member replied. "This would create far more problems than it would solve at the moment. Have you considered the problems that a combined doctrine would require, training by the fighter squadrons attached to those ships? What about the logistics required by those same ships, how would you continue to have those countries resupply them while under another's command?"

"The five ships will be commissioned at the same time and the crews are already undergoing training in combined operations. As we speak, the fighter groups will take more time but currently the United States has volunteered to arm all necessary ships with their own fighters from the ground based Third Starfighter Wing until an air wing of the right size and capability is trained up to replace them."

"That is an intriguing idea," Hughes replied steeling his fingers. He however spoke as the American ambassador to the IOA instead of as the chairman. "I assume that this is an order from the Crucible or General O'Neill."

"A request went out to several squadrons for this project, the Third United States Starfighters wing included. The majority of those pilots requested space-bound duty and therefore were chosen for this deployment. Once the First Combined Force Wing is operational they will replace the Third American Wing. The logistics will continue as they currently are via resupply by their respective countries."

"So if this is already in place why have you decided to request this meeting Colonel? It has been proven time and again that the armed forces that we supposedly have oversight of have been doing as they wished even without our permission or even informing us," Hughes said quietly. "The fact is that we have been all but set aside as the United States and its allies have been building their forces and co-opting others to assist them. The launch of the Houdini system and its command centre was place in the United Kingdom instead of where it was ordered deployed in Geneva under international control. However we have come to the conclusion that the instructions given in regards to the raider fleet may have been in error and that we agree would have been a mistake."

Davis kept his poker face still as his mind began churning. Politicians, especially the kinds that seemed to make up the IOA command structure were usually unwilling to admit to any kind of mistake, especially one of this magnitude. Whoever had decided that the smaller and less capable ships should be used had only told the ambassadors what they wanted to hear and not what they needed to.

He stopped and thought hard. It seemed that the ambassadors were finally willing to listen to the people actually fighting the war instead of whichever overpaid hacks they had on the payroll. To Davis, that was hope that they would allow the Crucible a more free hand as opposed to the micromanagement that they had forced on the myriad of defences that were springing up on an almost weekly basis.

"Thank you. We also freely admit that we made a mistake in beginning the formation of this command without informing the IOA but not in the actual creation of it. Several historical accounts prove the ability of allied units working in concert including several within the last hundred years, the ABDA Command in the Pacific, the invasion force during Operation Overlord and the United Nation Peacekeeping Forces during the Korean Conflict and Desert Shield," Davis pointed out. "What we have at the moment is the chance to show the Colonials that a united Earth is now a very real threat to them. The Twelve Colonies of Kobol are a single political and military entity with the ability to out build and outman our forces by an incredible margin."

"The ABDA command was crippled and then all but destroyed within a few months of assembling against the Japanese leaving the United States to practically run the entire show down there." Hughes snorted. "The same with Desert Shield, and D-Day was practically a British show and Korea was a clusterfuck as much as anything else, almost none of them were a real joint command Lt Colonel."

The Chinese representative shook his head. "And didn't one of your own reports claim that the Twelve Colonies are now almost down to ten due to the actions of the fleet."

"Our single major attack on the Colonies devastated one of their largest and most productive shipyards; the damage done afterwards we couldn't have seen coming. The majority of the damage done to the planet of Picon was due to their own munitions and fuels in orbit. Our own weapons vaporised or blew apart most of the main structure throwing it into an unstable orbit around the planet Picon." The Colonel locked eyes with the Russian then the British and Chinese delegates. "A combined command structure would require a Commodore or Admiral in charge of the fleet, this would depend on who is the best suited and experienced for a job like this. Most of the countries involved here have worked together several times over their respective histories and can do again if we ask them to."

Davis squared his shoulders and looked at each man and woman in turn. "In regards to the virus ravaging their people, we had no authorisation to use biological weapons and as such the Odyssey and her flight of F-302s had no form of bioweapons on board. The transmission intercepted by our sole remaining probe has the Colonials calling it the Tau'ri Plague believing we infected them with the virus."

"Hence the information we've received about the possibility of a second world falling to what is supposedly an unknown variable?" The Russian man asked.

"The world Sagittaron has been hit with a higher level of illness than some of the others. Although a smaller population than others they are spread out a lot more and with survivors of Picon settling there the virus has spread throughout their biosphere. At last count twenty five percent of their total population have died with another ten percent strong enough to cope with the illness. The majority of losses are in the elderly or very young much like on our own world."

"With that small a population I would have thought it higher."

"Initially a number were, sir, mostly those in the built up cities and towns the rest we believe were able to combat it due to their locations and hardier constitutions. Illnesses not currently seen on Earth might be responsible for this but unless we actually have a lab on the ground there's no way to tell."

"So if we didn't drop a bioweapon who did?"

"We aren't sure. It could have been bioweapons on board the station or in bunkers on the planet. Either would allow their own ships to load and distribute Nuclear, Chemical or biological weapons to their Battlestars or other capital ships. However we have been able to equate the symptoms with an Earth based illness and the probability of an infection vector."

"So we did drop something?" The Frenchman said confused. "But you said…"

"Yes Sir, I did. There was no virus bomb, no form of biological infection agent on board except in one place."

"And that was?"

Having an idea that several tangents would have to be brought to heel had made Paul slightly paranoid; as such he had more than a few ideas up his sleeve. As they watched Colonel Davis popped a pen drive into the familiar computer on the desk in front of him, a moment later both a medical and military record was brought up on the desk's screen as well as the wall mounted plasma screen.

"This is Flight Lieutenant William Fitzgerald of the Royal Air Force attached to the British 633rd Squadron out of RAF Marham. As the Royal Air Force's First Space Combat Squadron, it was one of a number of crippled squadrons during our battle against the Colonials last year. Due to the immense losses and damaged craft afterwards the best of what was left were assigned to the Odyssey, Flight Lieutenant Fitzgerald and his wingman Major Luc Gerard of Armee de L'air found themselves under attack by a force of vipers during the assault."

Gun camera footage from at least two F-302 were played on the screen forcing them to watch as one 302 took damage then the other playing bait against the Vipers, allowing the other man to return to the Odyssey at the cost of his own life. The footage ended as the 302 swept out of sight.

"The medical report on your terminals shows that Fitzgerald had suffered a mild case of influenza prior to the battle. While still fighting off the virus he was capable of flying in the battle and its aftermath. Either way if he survived the battle or not the Colonials had a virulent infection vector in the body of the Flight Lieutenant. If it was a virus that they haven't seen before then their bodies wouldn't have any kind of defence against it."

"And the flu virus mutates anyway," Leclerc replied. "That makes sense, especially if it is one of ours responsible."

"So they either have the body or a prisoner of war?" McClusky reiterated. "Which means that if he's still alive, then the Colonials have access to information we don't want them to have, especially in regards to the misinformation campaign we've already begun."

"So we now have the security risk of a captured pilot?" Hughes asked.

"Given the possibility of captured pilots or crew the information that each would have access to would be routinely changed, during wartime command codes and security clearances are rotated on a weekly or monthly basis. The only real danger is the Colonials finding out that the 'documentaries' that they claim as our history, aren't real." Paul wasn't exactly sure where the disinformation campaign was going as it wasn't his usual field of expertise. "But given the fact we have thousands of hours of previous transmissions as well as a number of custom made episodes they wouldn't believe Fitzgerald if he told them the truth."

"We will need your people to look into this Colonel, I believe that the pilots all have a tracking chip implant is that correct?"

"Yes Sir. The first wave of ships we send against the enemy system will drop a number of probes. Several of which will be able to scan for the identity chip and the possibility that the pilot may still be alive. If not then we at least should be able to recover what's left."

"Good, now as we have digressed a little, we should return to the basis of this meeting and what we are going to do to about this now command." A far more relaxed Hughes retook control. "The fact is Colonel is that you as Homeworld Command's executive officer should have brought this up long ago, if you had any thought of giving the IOA a say in what is going to happen to those ships. Since your superior decided to insult and threaten this international body Homeworld Security, and the heads of naval commands of the allied navies have decided to ignore our order and requests when they want to, any attempt we could make would end up with one or more laughing at our complaints and work to erode our power base."

Leaning forward, the American faced his countryman and looked him in the eyes closely. Paul wasn't stupid and after almost twenty years in the political arena and more than ten in and around the black projects programs, he was well aware he was being set up and had very little chance to turn it around on the other man. Steeling himself, he relaxed his usual mask and leaned forward; his hands clasped in front of his mouth before speaking.

"As you are aware, Councillor General O'Neill was under immense strain at the time, a combination commanding a facility running several war fronts as well as attempting to control the homeworld defences and increase the firepower. At the same time, we had just faced an enemy that had blown through our first line of defence and was still heading straight for Earth," Davis replied just as genially. "At that time, the rules of engagement against the enemy were to allow Homeworld Command to use whatever means it deemed necessary to protect this planet. The General followed the rules of engagement to the letter by co-opting all known defensive measures against any enemy."

"Yes, but the Hive ship wasn't stopped by the fleet, was it?" Leclerc smirked nastily. "It took the effort of an allied ship to destroy that monstrosity; leaving the fleet looking more than a little impotent wouldn't you say?"

"At the time, we had no idea if the Asgard would be willing to use one of their heavy warships to defend Earth. It was the General's personal request to Supreme Commander Thor that had his put his ship in the way. The remaining vessels in the fleet would have stopped the Hive, but at immense cost in lives and materiel." Paul refused to let the blindness of the politicians annoy him any more than he already was. "Once again you will find that General O'Neill kept to within the boundaries of operational necessity in making that request. The defence force we have currently includes the O'Neill Class vessel in orbit as well as the gift of two smaller Beliskners that we are currently using to bolster our fleet until more of our large vessels come online. Once we have enough ships one of the Asgard ships will be taken apart for reverse engineering."

"Why haven't the Asgard simply given us the technical specifications for those vessels instead?" The Frenchman interrupted, "Surely it would be far easier to understand the technology if we had the blueprints to their vessels."

"Currently the Asgard are using all their time and resources to construct their 'Ark' for lack of a better term. The time required to rewrite and translate the original specifications to their ships would be substantial. In addition, a substantial amount of their technology uses materials that our own fabrication techniques will find it impossible to replicate."

"I'm not being ungracious Colonel, but how do we know this? The Asgard while being allies have kept a lot from us even after garnering our assistance against their enemies," Leclerc interrupted again. "Giving us a pair of several hundred year old vessels seems a bit weak considering the power that their newer ships have. Even with their assistance to improve the shielding and hyperdrives on our own they seem to be leaving us to protect those worlds in the Protected Planets Treaty without any way of enforcing it."

This was it.

Paul had been expecting something like this since the Asgard had made their request. The IOA had agreed to the deal in good faith but as usual had been expecting something for their assistance. The supercomputer would be settled into orbit on the near side of the sun allowing the Earth based scanners and telescopes to keep watch over the huge construct. The first part of the structure was already in place something described by Jack O'Neill as an Asgard Death Star.

Now that the Asgard were close to finishing their project, the IOA seemed to be hemming and hawing about keeping their word – nothing overtly evident, but more a feeling that they weren't completely at ease with another race occupying a part of the Solar System, even one that had been as close an ally as the Asgard race.

"As I said, the majority of their technology is incompatible with our own and so what we have is what we can safely use. Some of our people are going through the information. We've already been given but right now we aren't in any position to use the knowledge we've gained to date." Davis kept control of the conversation. The IOA was good at what they knew but had no clue as to what was necessary right now. "The technology currently equipping our Daedalus class ships are thousands of years behind the top of the line for the Asgard simply because there is no way to adapt our own systems to theirs. We're trying to enhance our naquada generators but we're rapidly reaching the maximum capacity of what we can build with our own materials. However, a recent meeting with the Asgard has given us a new construction system that was used to build up the Asgard worlds and fleet during the last few years. It should increase our ability to build warships by three times cutting construction time down to six months per ship. We can build the Apollos even faster."

"What about materials science Colonel? We are aware of the ability of our ships to take significant weapons fire before damage sets in but we've been informed that the Asgard have better hulls than we could hope to have."

"Yes Sir but that is beyond our ability to build or use. The Asgard materialise their hull material from the basic elements that make up the structure. Right now we don't have the power or computing capacity to use that knowledge or technology. In addition to that, the Asgard use a mass lightening field beyond our comprehension to move their ships. An O'Neill class ship is heavier than our entire fleet put together."

"Oh." The Frenchman rubbed his face. "I apologise Colonel, I did not realise just how behind the other races we are."

"We've been lucky, sir. The majority of the technology we've reverse engineered was designed originally by the Alteran Race. Even millions of years apart they seemed to think a lot like we did, making it easier to understand their ideas. The Asgard don't think the same way and it makes it very difficult to understand their ideas."

"Very well. Thank you, Colonel." Leclerc finished.

"Back to the matter at hand, Colonel. The plan for an integrated command while on paper a good idea, I can't see it working as you envisage. The ships would already have agreed on will be used for this project but that's it we can't take the risk of conflicting loyalties when we're in the middle of a war. Maybe in the future it'll work but for now I don't think so," Hughes finished. "Thank you for bringing this to our attention, you are dismissed."

_'Yeah," _he thought._ 'That could have gone a hell of a lot better.'_

**_Cylon POW Camp_**

**_Undisclosed Location_**

**_Earth_**

Gina looked up at the sky as she felt the first specks of rain fall down onto her face. Closing her eyes, she breathed in the dampness of the air, feeling the closeness of the humidity before the thunderstorm would start. Even now after a year, she couldn't get enough of the outside. Being 'born' on a basestar, then spending most of her training inside the war college, then in fighters, and then finally an entire year aboard the Pegasus she had had little to no chance to experience the outside world.

It had been a few months before she and her brothers and sisters had been allowed outside from their imprisonment, the slightly harsher heat of summer near this planet's equator had been easy enough for the Cylons to survive, but once the Colonials had been moved off world the POW camp had become the Cylons new home. With most of them coming around to the idea that not every human seemed obsessed with destroying their race, several had been willing to liaise with the Tau'ri.

Almost everything the Cylons knew about the Colonies and their people had been disseminated to the specialist teams that had debriefed Gina and her people. Treated according to the Earth-borns conventions of war, they were treated far better as it became obvious that the Cylons were willing to assist the Tau'ri as much as they could. The POW camp had been modified by the Tau'ri and Cylons both making it far more comfortable. A few rounds of inoculations and some exposure to the outside world had meant that fewer of them had died of the human's myriad illnesses than the Colonials had.

The other Cylons had best described the world of Earth as a plague ridden paradise. The illnesses that they had been inoculated against were by far more virulent and deadly than the majority of those that the Colonies had had. Several of the nastiest ones could have wiped out more than one world while leaving any of the Earth born humans standing without a care. Some limited intelligence they had been given had told them of the plague ravaging several of the worlds. Most had been shocked to discover that this one illness was by far and away one of the least dangerous viruses they had been inoculated against. One guard with an oddly Caprican style accent had said that a 'Few Tons of Lemsip would see them right' when questioned about this 'influenza'. The idea that the Colonials themselves might have been responsible for it had made more than one of the other lines laugh out loud even bringing a smirk to Gina's face.

Fortunately, the illness was only as dangerous to Cylons as it was to the native humans due to their highly modified genetics. A few had come down with illnesses while others had died of others that one or two lines had found themselves susceptible to but for the most part they had been treated well and were healthy.

"Captain Knight?"

"Colonel Howard."

"Mind if I join you?"

"Of course."

"Enjoying the rain?" The Australian head guard asked. "Yeah, same here."

"I've existed as a human for three years and I don't know why, but I favour this kind of weather above all." Her English was slightly stilted and far more correct than the majority of the native speakers however she and the others had been able to learn the language relatively quickly thanks to the patience of their former captors. "I have only seen thunderstorms from a distance because of their possible interference with my pathways, now I understand that fear was unfounded and I am able to enjoy this."

"Yeah, me too, I really am sorry to disturb you but the General wants to see you."

"O'Neill?"

"Not this time, it's Ronson."

"Odd, we are rarely needed by your people in regards to combat." Gina started at the sky. "There will be another storm at some point, when shall we leave?"

"Fifteen minutes, grab ya uniform and we'll get you sorted before we leave."

"Very well."

Fifteen minutes later, Gina found herself in a modified raptor heading up towards the orbiting space station Alexander. Closing in, she could see heavy modifications, both that which was already completed and that still underway across the surface of the warship. Still recognisable to her as a former battlestar, the Alexander was slowly taking on the 'look' of a Tau'ri vessel.

As they slipped through a shield and into the hanger bay of the battlestation the Raptor set down allowing the Cylon and human both to see the ship's interior. Like he interior, the exterior had been heavily modified and 'felt' more like a Tau'ri craft than the original Colonial vessel it was. Turning around she could see several modified shuttles pulling up and dropping off supplies on the deck before leaving out the other end. Both open hanger bays now enclosed by what looked to be force fields. The energy flickering as shuttles and other craft pushed through. Intellectually she knew about the fields surrounding the warships they had faced but seeing them this close in action was startling.

"Come on, the boss is waiting." Howard bundled her out of the Raptor and into the ship proper only stopping to undergo a small number of scans plus handing an escorted visitor pass to their Cylon guest.

Walking through the modified ship Gina recognised the vessel for what it was, but was more than surprised to enter a small room before realising it was basically little more than an advanced elevator. At her look the Colonel smirked slightly and explained that several of the lifts had been installed throughout the battlestation at the behest of several of the senior staff. General O'Neill at the forefront complaining that his knees wouldn't take the constant mile long struggle to get down through the ship to each level and then back again. His exact words had been "If I wanted to walk six miles a day, I'd have stayed with SG1."

The ship's commander had a newly installed office a few dozen meters from the ship's command center. One that was an exact mirror to the office aboard the recently departed Hannibal. Inside, Generals Ronson and Caldwell were awaiting their arrival in silence barely acknowledging the arrival of their 'guests'. Saluting the two officers, Colonel Howard and Captain Knight stood to attention only easing when the salutes were returned. Gesturing to a chair Gina was sat down while her escort was dismissed from the office.

Ronson nodded. "Thank you for coming Colonel, Captain Knight. Captain first of all we would like to think you and your people for the assistance they have given us over the last year in regards to knowledge of the Colonials, I'm sorry we've been unable to let you or the rest of the Cylons go but we can't risk the public finding out about your race or the fact that we had let you out into the world."

"We understand, sir. The accommodations that you have granted us have been quite pleasant."

"We asked you here for a simple reason. We're going on the offensive against the Colonies starting at the end of the month and we need help." Caldwell began to Gina's surprise.

The Colonies were still heavily armed and even the Tau'ri couldn't have built up a fleet this quickly.

"The fact is that we've only had people in the Cyrannus sector twice and both times have been short stays before getting away. Even with the starcharts and other Intel from the ships we recovered from the battle there's a lot we won't know about the local areas. We want some of your people to accompany our ships as observers just in case we bite off more than we can chew."

"That is unexpected sir. Given the losses that your people have taken, it is surprising that you are willing to risk any ships on an attack on the Colonial home worlds. They do still have far more ships and resources than you can gather for an attack. If you strike on their homeworlds then the Colonials will make an attempt to strike back, through nuclear attack as they have attempted, or far worse if they are given the go ahead from the Quorum."

"We have the ships and people willing to make the raids we have in mind. We need people who know the area and due to the fact we can't ask the Colonial POWs. You are the best chance we have."

"Several of our people are still hesitant to talk to humans but others will be willing to do so. I can try and ask but there will be difficulty persuading more than a few to assist your ships considering our history with your people to date."

"I'm glad to hear that Captain; however there is one thing that we will want you to do while aboard one of our ships."

"Sir?"

"We want you to contact your own people if possible; we know that you have a subspace circuit attached to the relays in your brain. We've picked up some of those signals, nothing much but it looks a hell of a lot like part of a transmitter."

"Yes we do and it is something like a transmitter," Gina acknowledged. "I cannot divulge anything else unless the rest of my people reach a consensus."

"That's fine we're not planning on forcing it out of you." Ronson agreed, "But we know once we're in the Cyrannus system that you would be able to contact the rest of the Cylon Race, we won't ask you to take us into your space or any kind of assembly point. If necessary, we'll give you an unmodified colonial Raptor to drop behind your front lines and wait for a message."

"Aren't you worried that I may attempt an escape?"

"Yes we are, but to be honest you know nothing about us that can harm Earth or its people and I doubt you would be willing to leave dozens of the other infiltrators in our hands if you did," Ronson continued. "To be honest as much as you've been willing to help us with the Colonials you've not told us much about the Cylon Race or it's people. We're not enemies right now Gina but we're not allies either and right now we need one and not the other."

Gina leaned back as his words ran though her mind. Humanity had created the Cylons but at the same time had enslaved them even after several of their earliest brothers and sisters had been proven sentient. More than once the 'faulty' Cylon had been dismantled and its memory wiped and destroyed, in essence murdering the machine. These actions forced other Cylons that had become sentient, to fight back or end up the same way. Humans had refused to believe that their creations could have become as intelligent and self-aware as they themselves and as such the intelligent machines were kept on a tight lease. They were slaves to their parents.

In the end there could only have been the one outcome. Billions of humans, verses tens of millions of Cylons fought a war of survival or annihilation. The Cylons refused to bow down to servitude and logically the only way to stay free was to remove the threat permanently. The eradication of humanity had been the only way for them to stay free and so they had killed every human they came into contact with. In response every Cylon not already freed was destroyed in mob frenzies, governmental action or by their owners.

It would be next to impossible to persuade the entire Cylon race to ally themselves with the Tau'ri humans in any way. However, some of the individuals and even one or two lines that had the most intimate connection with their former masters could be brought around to at least talk to the Tau'ri.

"If I talk to them as a liaison then it's highly likely I would be ignored, punished and boxed."

"Boxed?"

"As I am a cybernetic organism I believe you call it then I would have my programming removed from my body and kept in a sealed and shielded container without any knowledge of time passing or my own existence. It is the greatest punishment that we can force on someone who has broken our rules."

"That's barbaric."

"It's our way, Colonel; Cylons are a robotic race at heart. The best way to describe this is that damaged files can be repaired if given enough time and effort. Being boxed is not a death sentence for a Cylon and when brought back after time and new programming compiled then we can be treated for the ailment that caused us and return to Cylon Society without fear."

"Even if it isn't an ailment?"

"Anything that would threaten the consensus is seen as an ailment. Every Cylon that you have captured and kept here would be boxed once we return home until such time as they were vindicated in their beliefs or a way was found to treat them of their damage. It is not a good way but it is the only way that we know how to deal with what is essentially our version of criminal behaviour."

Leaning forward slightly Ronson pushed a file across the table to the former Colonial pilot. Opening it revealed a long range scan of the local area around the Cyrannus system. Hundreds to thousands of times further than the most powerful Dradis system, the Tau'ri probe had been scanning the area for over a year before sending out the information to a hidden satellite which would then be downloaded by an Earth Warship once a month.

Eyes widening, she looked back up at the two senior officers in front of her then back again. The silhouette of a new style base ship stood in stark relief to the black background of space. A few barely recognisable dots could be seen around the huge warship, a second page a blow up of then showing a flight of the newest raiders as well. The Tau'ri knew where that ship was and what it had been doing and if she was correct then it had been another insertion by a humanoid model. After all these months it would have been an eight or possibly a five.

"We weren't consciously looking across the border into your people's space but this one appeared almost one hundred degrees away from that border within Colonial space. It just happened to jump in as the probe was scanning that part of their sector. A smaller jump was recorded before the larger ship disappeared. It was there for no more than about thirty seconds but enough for us to see it," Caldwell said. "This isn't a threat against you or your people Captain, but it is to inform you that we know when and where that ship will next appear as it has every month at the same time since we first saw it. If you agree we will send one of our ships to meet with that command ship with you going ahead with a raptor and a secure transmitter in case you run into any trouble."

Ronson picked up the conversation. "We aren't forcing this on you, Captain. The fleet we're sending is to keep the Colonials off balance until we can assemble enough ships to take their armed forces to task. We want you and others to join that force as we said to assist our forces with any local Intel and information that you have."

"I will go. I will have to ask the others but it won't take long to find out who is willing to assist with this mission, Gina agreed. "However I would ask that we do not attempt to approach my people until we have engaged the Colonial forces several times. The majority of the Cylon people will not have seen the attacks, simply the aftermaths. The rest of the lines will be wary of belief that humans from outside the colonies would be at war with their own."

"Alright, once we've begun the raids we'll think about this again." Ronson took back the file. "The fleet will be ready to go in three weeks. Do you think you can get another five people on your side in that amount of time?"

"I can try."

"Then that's all we can ask from you Captain, Colonel Howard will take you back to your camp. Dismissed."

A few moments later, the two Generals sat with the desk between the two of them, neither spoke as Ronson pulled a bottle from the draw along with a pair of glasses. "This is a bad idea, Steven."

"We need all the help we can get with this raid, between the screwing around by the IOA and using entire crews of greenhorns, we're screwed before we're gone."

"Every artificial race we've found has tried to kill us. The Cylons are the same just a different humanity." Ronson sighed. "If we're sending these people out with our ships I want them implanted with the Type Three trackers."

Caldwell raised an eyebrow. "You sure?"

"Yes and if they try to betray us, blow the implants."

"It's a risk, Sir."

"More than allowing them to inform their people about us?" Ronson shot back, "The autopsies of the dead Cylons we found prove that they can transmit their conscious mind back to their people but at a relatively short range. Jamming all outgoing transmission will stop them being able to download with their information intact if we have to. I hate to take you from the Daedalus Steven, but we need you on the Hammond for the duration."

"Understood. I'm taking Marks with me."

"Every ship in the fleet wants that guy, what's with that?"

"You alright, Gina?" Howard asked as he picked up his charge.

"I am concerned about my people and the possibility that the Colonials may be a danger to the Cylon race again," Gina replied as they left the compound. "They truly do not understand what is out in the greater universe; it is far more than anything that we've ever believed possible."

Howard nodded before looking over. "Come on, I've got something I think you need to see."

Questioning the request with a glance, the number Six nevertheless acquiesced to the request and strode down the corridors with the Tau'ri officer. A quick chat to the security office and the young woman was given a visitors badge and limited access to the rest of the facility. Curious as to the fact she was being granted far more freedom than any of her people had had to date within the camp, almost reverently she took in the high tech building and its staff before finishing her walk at a sealed door.

"Howard, Colonel S, SGC Ident number 778993220. Requesting entrance to external transport system."

"Please stand still for scan." A monotone female voice replied "Entrance approved."

A second scan rippled over Gina before the invisible energy beams localised on the visitor badge on her chest. "Scan complete, visitor security approved, Knight, Captain G., Colonial POW Cylon POW. Access granted."

The two heavy doors opened up silently as the hydraulic mechanism pulled the away from the center. Thick bars slipping almost invisibly into the channels set inside each door. Inside a single large platform was set into the floor with a small panel on the wall. Gesturing to the platform, Howard let Gina enter first and stand comfortably in the middle of the room. Smiling at her reticence he tapped in a code and a series of numbers into the pad before standing next to the Cylon.

"This might feel a little weird." He murmured as the entire chamber lit up with a bright light.

A vague but evident pulling sensation across the entire body, Gina gasped as the pulling sensation was registered by her engineered body feeling a haze throughout her entire being before returning to a semblance of normality on the other end. Howard grabbed her arms before she could drop to the floor panting at the semi-painful/semi exhilarating feeling that had rippled through her body.

"Sorry about that, we've not put a Cylon through the transporter before."

"No, no it is alright. I will be ready for it next time." Gina took another deep breath before standing up straight. "Where are we?"

"I'll show you." The Colonel gestured to the large windows that made up the platform in front of them. Still slightly put out by the feeling of the transporter, Gina slowly made her way to the other side of the room. Outside a dozen small shuttles were moving in and out of the receiving hanger bay of the massive shipyards deep under the ground in Arizona.

"We are underground?"

"Something like that, but that's not what I wanted you to see."

He pointed out at the shuttles that had landed. Far below she could see humans of the Tau'ri mingling with other humans, some with odd tattoos while others were talking with… lizards. Gina blinked slightly as her eyes widened, humans were talking to a lizard type humanoid without fear and without malice as she would have expected given the Colonial's view of her own people and even the Tau'ri but yet here they were conversing with a non-human race.

Ripping her eyes away from the odd sight she focussed on the humans with the head tattoos. She had seen one or two over her time with the Tau'ri including one which involved Teal'c, the man who called himself a Jaffa. He had claimed to be descended from humans of this world but not human as the others were.

With several dozen of his kind on the hanger bay below she had begun to realise just what that meant.

"None of them are from Earth are they?"

"The people in the green and blue uniforms are ours but the rest are from allied worlds, Jaffa from Dakara and Chulak amongst others, Serrakin from Hebridan and humans from a dozen other worlds from across the local sectors. You've already seen our friends the Asgard as well."

"Those humans with the facial tattoos… they are like Teal'c?"

"Jaffa, yep. Human descended but functionally an alien race allied to Earth."

"I have already met an alien?" Gina was shocked at the idea that she had met a non-human or non-Cylon life form already and had had no idea of what he was. "I did not know what he was. How is this possible, there is so little life in our area of space? Only the Colonials and Cylon races exist out there."

"We're not sure about that but this is something that you needed to see. The Cylons aren't our enemy but from what we know of your people from both Colonial and Cylon POWs we could end up on opposite sides given their hatred for humanity. Earth is protected by our own ships and technology but also by our allies across the galaxy itself. If we need help all we have to do as ask and they will be here to help us," Howard explained. "I was allowed to show you this as a precursor to what we need to show you and your people that join the raider force. Before we leave you will be introduced to Ambassadors from a multitude of worlds and shown the true scale of what's out there. Remember that the Colonials have no idea of what we are really capable of now except for what we wanted them to see."

"I believe I understand. This is very confusing but I will inform my people as to the existence of both humans and aliens not of this world or our own." Gina sighed. "We really don't understand what's out there do we?"

"I've been at this for almost six years Captain and I still don't have a clue what's going on half the time."

"And the other half?"

"I don't usually want to know." He grinned at the Cylon before sobering. "The fact is Gina that we need allies and we have them. The Cylon race could be seen as a threat to just about everyone out here and it's only by chance that we have a contingent on Earth right now allow us to learn about each other. Humanity isn't purely a group of twelve worlds biased against everyone else that is different; it's a wide spreading race on thousands of planets and moons, tens of thousands of ships and stations. Think about this. We're considered a backwater world that was once no threat to the rest of the universe. That will change and will continue to change as we expand into the galaxy. We don't want to find another enemy in the Cylons. We've enough trouble with our other problems the least of all being the Colonies."

"We do not want to be enemies, at least not those of us here on Earth. But more than a small number will be unwilling to listen to reason. Their hatred of humans in any form is legendary no matter who they are or where they are from. Several of the first run of human types could care less about humans especially considering what they witnessed during the last war. We will run a great risk returning home with a human escort."

"Some with think you've betrayed them to us somehow."

Howard understood.

"That I get, let's get you back to camp. Whatever it was that the Generals wanted I'd wager you want to get back to talk to the rest of your people downstairs."

"Yes please."

A few minutes later Colonel Howard escorted the dark haired Number Six to the encampment. The trip had been in silence most of the way with the Cylon deep in thought as to the request from the Tau'ri's equivalent to the Admiralty. A year ago she wouldn't have thought twice about trying to remove both senior officers from the equation before losing her life but times had changed since being on Earth. Only a very few of her people had been treated badly by the Tau'ri with at least one of her people in a coma and another crippled by attacks from several of the guards who had blamed them for everything.

Each of the guards had been easily identified by the eidetic memories of the Cylon prisoners leading to several being added to the prison population, alongside several other military personnel whom had been found to have broken more than one of the major rules and regs of their militaries in time of war. At last count over a thousand had been seconded to the old Colonial POW camp and were if anything treated as badly as the Colonials had been when they were kept prisoner.

Having had their uniforms changed from the Colonial shipboard standard to the more common Air Force jumpsuits and BDUs had helped the Cylons become seen more as allies than enemies. It was becoming far too easy to allow the influence of the Tau'ri to propagate through their camp, almost becoming absorbed into their civilisation with the access they had to television, films and literature. It was enough that some of her fellow POW's had almost begun giving up their identity as Cylons and becoming more human. As much as they looked and acted like their former masters, they weren't human though, but even Gina was starting to lose that part of herself.

Sighing, she kept her eyes on the path. She had actually loved being a pilot in the Colonial Fleet. Flying had been a passion programmed into her since before her 'rebirth' from the robotic mind that had housed her consciousness for decades, it had been an odd experience to realise that her original 'sentience' had had female undertones that had gone unnoticed until the transfer. While far more males had come out of the process the females had made up a good percentage, but at the same time the original design to make them all derivatives of the same line hadn't been as successful as thought.

While each line was the same basic program the variants were as different to each other as they were to the other lines, the infiltration plan had come about because of those differences. Her own 'modification' had come around after she had been recovered from a downed freighter carrying Cylons for destruction after the war. After awakening in and learning how to use her human body properly, Gina had found her reflexes and co-ordination superior to a large number of the earlier members of her line; coming close to those of the dedicated pilot type Cylons of the first war.

As a human her reflexes got better and faster making her a dangerous prospect on the battlefield as such she was given the chance to train in weaponry as a soldier excelling in combat. A very large number of Eights had also been able to enhance their abilities in the cockpit and were deployed for training for the same reason. Not long afterwards she began simulated training in an old style raider sharpening her already impressive skills in the real vacuum of space. Finally, she was put in the single seat fast interceptor of a Mk2 Viper captured during the war. Figuratively and literally she blew away the test and competition she was up against, putting her at the forefront of the infiltration of the Colonial fleet.

Six months before the attack on Earth a combination of hacking and falsifying records had put her aboard one of the highest profile ships in the assembling war fleet, The Pegasus.

"Captain?" She blinked bringing herself out of her musing. They had reached the outer gate of the camp from the transport down point. "You ok?"

"I am fine. It is still somewhat disorienting to be transported down."

"Alright, I gotta leave you here. Hope everything goes ok with the rest and cheer up ok?" He smiled before leaving.

"Thank you Colonel, for everything you told me today." Smiling slightly in return the preoccupied Cylon walked through the gates and back into the main population. Almost as soon as she appeared several of her own line were standing up walking towards her so she nodded and walked up to them. A number of other lines followed her own as she walked in and stood in the center of the room speaking out loud to the assembled Cylons.

"So what happened?" A Number Four asked. "What did they ask for?"

"Call everyone together. We've got a consensus to reach."

"What happened?" One, a short cut redhead Six asked.

"The Tau'ri are about to show the Colonials just how frakked off they are."

**_Presidential Offices_**

**_Caprica City_**

**_Caprica_**

Sitting quietly staring out at the vista of Caprica City, President Adar nursed a coffee, liberally laced with Aerian Scotch, an acceptable drink so long as you mixed it with something else. Adar was nothing if not prudent as instead of wasting his good Caprican and Leonian liquors he simply used something less appetizing for the moment. The news he had received had not been good by any stretch of the imagination. The loss of the majority of two worlds had already sent consumer markets into a downward spiral. The military industrial complex on Picon was gone as was a high percentage of the Sagittaron breadbasket with only a third or so holding on as their owners and farmers battled plague and intense pressure to produce as much as possible.

The fear was still rife, a year since the Picon attack, enough that it prevented a huge number of civilian ships and crews from leaving their homes. Without the civilian trading fleets the twelve colonies were effectively isolated and in dire straits. While the majority of each surviving world could look after themselves there was still a significant minority of necessary goods flowing to each of those worlds good that had to continue flowing.

Fuel, food, weapons, medical equipment, pharmaceuticals, even people were needed in droves across the entire system forcing the government to impound and crew civilian superfreighters and supertankers using their own rapidly dwindling personnel reserves. With each day tens of billions of cubits were lost per planet and even with goods moving they were barely managing to hold off economic failure being spread across all of the colonies. But without the massive numbers of people and vessels moving the Colonies were looking at bankruptcy.

The public sector was a mess with stock markets collapsing, or being bolstered by massive spending via the military while the people on the street were scraping to make ends meet or to find food. Millions were dying on the more advanced and populace worlds from starvation or lack of medical aid. Illnesses that should have been simple to cure were killing people that normally would have been up and about within a day of contracting it. For once, it seemed that the less advanced colonies were at the forefront with most easily surviving day to day thanks to their surplus foods and hardier constitutions than those on worlds such as Caprica.

He looked back at his desk and the document simply awaiting his signature. Those same worlds once viewed with some contempt, were becoming a problem as several were increasing their prices, while others were doling out the bare minimum they could get away with to the detriment of the other colonies. That document would change things for the better or for worse if he signed it. Nationalization and the forced growing of food would cause riots. Forced sharing of medical supplies along with replacement of farmers and government personnel in the colonies was not something he was looking forward to signing even if he could bring himself to.

Already there were murmurs in the homes and streets, in barracks and even the Quorum that Adar was unable to do what he promised and to bring the Thirteenth colony into their hands. The loss of Picon within days of their aborted attack on Earth, then the damage caused by the plague and finally the EMP attack had pushed his government to the limit. Those same murmurs were talking of a vote of no confidence in the president and a demand for something, anything to be done.

Another aggravation: somehow it had got out to the public at large that not only had there been no outbreaks of illness in the Crusade Fleet he had banished to the Ragnar Fleet yards, but it had been revealed that a ship full of survivors, worse yet collaborators with the Tau'ri had been returned and sent to the Ragnar Anchorage as well. The intel and debriefing had cause paroxysms throughout the High Command and the Intelligence Divisions as they were informed as to the truth behind the battle between the hive and the fleet that they had offered to become part of. It was further evidence of yet another non-human race, and this time one that not only would kill humanity but feast on their very life.

He needed a drink.

Oh… he had one.

The people wanted to know when they could see their families and friends, loved ones that hadn't been seen in over two years since the day most of the fleet had left for the first staging area to the fanfare of the people, the politicians and the churches. But he knew the day they were released into the public; his days would be numbered politically and possibly literally as the Colonial public found out the truth about the battle at Earth and what came afterwards. He slugged back the rest of his lukewarm coffee wincing at the taste of the weak coffee mixed with strong alcohol. He had thought that the Tau'ri would have been an easy, quick and fruitful conflict putting him in the running for the most successful head of state in Colonial history. He dreamed of eclipsing the great President Bridges seen by most as the man who led them through the Cylon war before being ousted after his second term. He last because most people believed that he and his old style policies wouldn't be needed in the post war world.

Adar realised that sooner or later he would be looking at a mutiny at the Ragnar yards unless something happened. Adama and Kronus had been requesting more and more resources to keep the crews happy on their vessels but things were still building up and he was now faced with either a bad choice or a worse one when it came to it.

It was either mutiny, or let the truth come out.

"Frak this."

He threw the cup into the fire before grabbing a bottle of Sagittaron Ambrosia from his drinks cabinet. If he was going to go down he was going down fighting. The Tau'ri had made a mockery of everything that the Colonies stood for and refused to join them when all humanity could benefit. He wasn't an evil man or an overly vain man but he was going to win it all for the people of the Colonies. Taking a swig from the filled tumbler he barely noticed as his office doors opened.

"What is it?" he asked finally after a seeming eternity. He hadn't even bothered to see who had entered his private office. That was a telling sign.

"Sir, we've uncovered more of the Tau'ri signals from the probes."

Corman coughed slightly causing Adar to turn around his eyebrows almost colliding with the top of his skull. The already ill looking and untidy officer looked worse than he had earlier that day when he'd been ordered to bed rest by the medical officers and under his own direct order.

"Are you a fool, Corman? You were ordered to stand down for a good reason."

"I know, Mister President, but this couldn't wait." He handed an overflowing paper file over to the President who opened the front page wondering just what would have had a career officer disregard an order from his Commander in Chief.

Thirty seconds later he found out.

Adar sat stunned at the news from the Admiralty. The successful decryption of the probes retrieved by the Valkyrie was an intelligence boon unsurpassed in the war to date. Information by the petabyte was being stripped down, searched and analysed for any information that could be of strategic use by the fleet. Some small information about the size of the fleet and the local defences were evident, but heavily encoded by the Tau'ri. But more and more history files were becoming easily accessed thanks to the heavily telecommunications based information structure of the Earth.

Leaning back in his chair, Adar looked across at the tired and haggard looking Corman. The other man was clutching a cup still mostly full of a remarkably thick type of coffee. At a guess he would assume that Corman had been up for a long time, living only on coffee and cigarettes. "Just how bad is it, Admiral?" He really didn't want to know.

The Admiral ran his free hand through his hair, a nervous gesture he wouldn't usually have made in front of anyone let alone the Command in Chief of his armed forces. "Very bad sir."

_'Frak, frak, frak...'_

"The data records from the Valkyrie and the Relentless have been verified. The Tau'ri have begun a full scale global build up of their space forces. The scans indicate dozens of ships already commissioned and in orbit. Prometheus types, their larger types we are tentatively calling the Odyssey Class and a growing number of scout or corvette. Fighter numbers have increased to and passed the numbers they had in service before we attacked and what looks to be a satellite defence network is already in place with a slight weapons capability," Corman stated. "They have maybe six of their largest ships replacing those we destroyed, three of the Prometheus class and twenty of the gunboats. Not enough to threaten us but if they have been able to do this in a year…

"Then they can build as many within the next year, maybe more." Adar finished. "What about these satellites and space stations?"

"The satellites are rail gun platforms probably to shoot down smaller craft and missiles before they can hit the surface. The Tau'ri must be focussing on the warships primarily as the orbital defences are too strung out to interdict an entire attack. The stations are hashed together hanger bays with a habitation structure to the side holding maybe a pair of squadrons each. It is also probable that they are shielded like their warships."

Adar looked over the printouts from the Valkyrie's computers as well as some from the heavy cruiser she had brought back and the probes. To the unenlightened mind, the defences of that world seemed to be laughable when compared to even the lightest colonial world. Tiny gun platforms and a slight orbital defence grid would be wiped out by even a single spoiling attack, why bother with such antiquated defences in the first place?

"It's likely they have more ground-based defences we can't see or are kept secret enough that the public know nothing about it, although some of our own people informed us about some kind of weapon that was able to take down almost every fighter, missile and warship that got close to orbit. We still have no idea what that is, but it might account for the reasons behind such a lacklustre defence in orbit."

"It's a political statement," Adar replied.

"Yes, sir. We believe it's purely to make it seem that the Tau'ri are attempting to defend the world and not simply build up their warship forces instead. However, we have a serious problem as it is. Intelligence have managed to recover some information from a heavily coded transmission we were able to break. A command ship is half way complete on a different world under Tau'ri control." Corman handed over another file complete with picture and partial schematic. "This vessel is a full mile long and armed with over a hundred energy weapons and point defences. It's capable of carrying the Tau'ri equivalent of six squadrons of fighters and thousands of troops and armoured vehicles for landing. Its codename is 'Imperator'."

"Imperator?" The President's eyes widened at the sight of the spearhead like construct. Battlestars were built to the same size but were far less powerful than a single small ship. It seemed that some kind of expansion was going on. Perhaps they had decided to return to the seat of power they had once held as an interstellar empire. Ships of this size and complexity would find the Colonials not only under attack by a superior force technically but through pure firepower.

"Yes sir, the ship is larger than anything we have bar the Warstars with enough firepower to eradicate a Battlestar Wing or the surface of a planet. We'd need hundreds of capital ships to fight just one of these things and two are about eighteen months to two years from completion."

"Frak me," Adar gasped. It wasn't a very presidential thing to blurt out, but it was the only thought he had that could accurately describe what he was hearing.

"I'm afraid it gets worse, the probes picked up on a battle within the Tau'ri solar system a few months ago," Corman went on. "A single massive warship of unknown construction entered their space heading for Earth itself, the vessel had been damaged already in some kind of battle but seemed to be regenerating itself."

"Regenerating?" Adar looked over the scans as he asked, "What do you mean?"

"I mean like a lizard or starfish." He pointed out ragged scores and holes in the hull of the ship, "Whatever technology that built that ship is capable of rebuilding itself somehow."

"Incredible."

"The damage caused is evidently from the Tau'ri's own weapons as we've seen before however some of the larger holes are from a different weapons type." Corman sighed. "Battlestar heavy guns."

"What?" Adar's eyebrows shot up in shock. "Are you sure?"

"The damage caused combined with the slow regeneration proves that the penetration is bigger that anything the Tau'ri have shown to date. A debrief with the Commander of the Relentless has confirmed that two of our Battlestars were refitted with a new load out of ammunition for their larger cannons, a very high power explosive round." Corman looked up as he continued his debriefing, "a round that would blow a hole several dozen meters wide in the thickest armour we can conceive." Corman's eyes had said it all.

"Frak me," Adar replied again.

"Sorry, Mr President, but that's not all. The Relentless crew and the probe have both confirmed that the unknown ship entered Earth space only to find themselves face to face with another unknown ship type. We've got very little to go on except a general visual of the design, but this last ship seemed to be allied to the Tau'ri. If you will look at the screen, Mister President, we have a transmission and recording the succeeding Battle"

The screen came on as the Admiral manipulated the controls, the data had had to be transferred from the probe to a data tape leaving the quality of the transmission far from ideal but it was still legible. On the screen a massive ship sat in space facing what seemed to be empty space. _"This is Supreme Commander Thor of the Asgard, Commander of the Asgard fleet, member of the Asgard High Council allies to the Ancients, friends to the people of Earth and defender of the Protected Planets. Stop here now, or you will be shown no mercy."_

"Asgard… Asgard… I know that word."

"I've got Intel digging up everything possible that we have on that word, sir. Keep watching."

Moments later, the massive ship began pelting the empty space with cannon fire. Barely a second later the transmission fizzed as another ship wavered into view for a split second. While far smaller than the monster facing them, it looked meaner and nastier as it disappearing from sight again. It was then that the smaller ship unleashed its main weapons on the behemoth.

Scant seconds later, Adar gaped as the massive ship came apart under bombardment from the Asgard ship. Unimaginable power must have been needed to take a ship that big down in such a short time. The other vessels in the fleet facing the unknown ship simple sat in space watching the annihilation of the great ship in mere seconds. The Colonial fleet had never seen nor even believed in something so powerful in a vessel barely the size of a Warstar that would have weapons capable of destroying a vessel the size of a battle station. Combined with the fact that the ship was impossible to see through their stealth would mean that just one of those vessels would have been able to destroy the entire Colonial Fleet in short order.

"Those weapons…"

"As far as we can tell they are a more powerful version of the one we saw on board the Prometheus. If this is the race that helped the Tau'ri to recover from their last war and return to the stars, then we are in more trouble than we ever believed."

"Then why haven't they attacked us? That kind of power would allow them to invade and take over the Colonies in days!"

"Intel doesn't have a clue Mr President. All we know is that there are at least two types of ship belonging to that race in the system at the moment, possibly more in the local area according to the debrief of the Relentless command staff. One is smaller than the other but are more numerous while the other is this ship we have seen here, the commander of the Relentless discovered the name of the ship when he overheard the crews stocking our ship for the crew- it's called the O'Neill Class."

"O'Neill, as in…"

"We can only guess, Sir. We're still going through the rest of the crew but its slow going, very little of what we've been told is contradictory and what we have learned scares the frak out of us."

"Giant warships, alien races which we didn't even believe could exist and now we know they have access to the type of weapons that will massacre our people as soon as we try anything." Adar groaned. "What the frak have we gotten into Corman?"

"Sir, we have no chance against a force that can build these Imperators. We could launch another fleet and level their planet to the bedrock and it wouldn't help us in the end. Just one ship and we'd we wiped out to a man in retaliation and I seriously doubt they would have any problem doing that if we killed their world." Corman sighed, "Sir, we need to think about approaching them for a cease fire."

"Your have to be joking, Admiral!" Adar thundered. "The Tau'ri attacked us, destroyed one world, and poisoned the majority of the rest killing more than three billion people to date. Five percent of our entire population lost to a gods damned plague caused by whatever it is they did. Wiped out hundreds of our best ships killing thousands upon thousands of their crews and you expect me to go to the Quorum and say, We've frakked up and need to say sorry and no harm meant'?"

"If we're to save the Colonies, Mr President then yes, yes I do."

The president was livid. "You realise that if I try this not only will I be impeached but a good percentage of the government and Admiralty will go down with me. The people expect us to be able to defend them against an attack, not bow down and scrape at the feet of an enemy. There is no way we can stop this war short of defeating the Tau'ri. The damage done to our people is far too widespread and too integrated into the current generation's memories to allow it. The Cylons didn't beat us and we can't let fellow humans do it either. They don't have the manpower to invade us or hold any of our worlds if we don't want them to."

"And we can't attack Earth again without losing even more of our forces than the first time. Six ships crippled us, Mr President, and double that could break every defence we have in place around Caprica not to mention what they could do to the lesser Colonies." Corman shook a little as he thought about it. "We can't fight and we can't surrender. Sir, we were forced into a ceasefire against our greatest enemies forty years ago and now it looks like we have to again. We lost this war before it even began, Mr President, and now we have to pay the price for what we did. And if we are to survive then we have no choice but to beg for forgiveness and to leave the Tau'ri alone, or the entire Colonial system will end up like Picon or worse.

"Get out, Admiral." The Admiral walked out without another word. Quietly, after the man had left: "get some rest. We'll need you."

**_Underground Sanctuary_**

**_Picon City Catacombs_**

**_Picon_**

William Fitzgerald was dreaming.

Deep in the planet's crust far below the devastated surface of the Colonial world the British pilot slept deep. His mind saw the flashes of explosions haunting his dreams. Fleets of Earth warships exchanged fire with many times their number of Colonial vessels. Entire task forces from both sides disappeared under fire as they closed, massive battlewagons hammered by missiles and guns annihilating tens of thousands of lives in an instant with every salvo that connected.

Twin worlds spun side by side green and blue covered with white clouds simply turning peacefully behind the cataclysmic battles that rocked space around them. Slowly however the surfaces turned brown and yellow with bursts of energy erupting across their surfaces poisoning the landscape and air with radiations, poisons turning the twins from beautiful habitable worlds to wastelands deadly to any and all who would try to land upon them. And still the ships fought, more and more hove into view blocking out the light from the dead and poisoned planets as they created their own brief stars. Atomic explosions broke the backs of destroyers, cruisers, battleships, battlestars, Warstars and annihilated entire throngs of fighters and attack craft. Thousands of ships on each side were lost with every moment. A group of fighters broke from their fleet and headed down to the worlds below. One by one they broke apart for no reason before leaving one sole craft heading into the surface of one of the world.

A single detonation cracked the world in half sending torrents of molten rock and chunks of solid earth hurtling into the depths of space, the two halves crumbling into themselves as their very fabric came apart in front of his eyes. Deep in the centre of the collapsing world a single fighter sat alone watching the universe around him fall apart. Inside the cockpit of that fighter the observer looked out at his works and sat still and in silence at the cataclysmic destruction of one ruined and desolate and another little more than rocks. And still the battle continued on the fleets still growing as if alive, ships expanding in size and power firing on far less sophisticated but larger vessels, every hit blowing through their hulls lighting up space with silent explosions before disappearing. Fighters in the millions swum around space like insects across the backs of elephants. Some disappeared in death, but for every one destroyed a hundred identical ships replaced them, overwhelming their attackers before in turn being overwhelmed by a thousand more.

Still the battle grew.

The vista shifted as the dream always did, moving from one scene to another faster than he could follow flying through the depths of space watching as the second world choking on its own shattered surface simply came apart silently throwing great clouds of dust and rocks into space and merging its remnants with the tumbling debris of the other world.

–Two worlds so alike in life as well as death lost to the void of space.

And still the battle waged on.

The single fighter that had destroyed the first world floated in space surrounded by the carcasses of destroyed ships. Within the next second the craft itself simply vanished as a flash of light came from nowhere, which immolated the wreckage of worlds, the fleets and everything for millions of miles around blocking out the darkness of space and the light of the stars both.

Brightness replaced the dark of space for a second before dying away leave nothing behind.

William Fitzgerald's eyes slid open as he woke up unbothered and unhurried by his dream.

Sighing, the British pilot turned over to a clock set to the local time.

06:00

"That was better than usual," he whispered to himself as he sat up and slipped out of his cot, the dream once again receding as they had every night since the first day he had been saved by the monotheists and brought to their sanctum. Pulling on the Colonial surplus combats, he slowly limped through the doorway. Shaking out the twinge in his knee as he did, entering the half filled mess area he was noticed quickly by Stuart and Cassandra as the last of the limp faded away.

"Ah, my son you are looking better."

"I feel better thank you Padre." Fitz stretched.

The months he had spent with the monotheists had been painful but worth it as his injuries had healed and the physiotherapy helped him to regain most of what he had lost. Broken bones and lacerations had been set and cleaned while internal injuries had been taken care of carefully. However, the amount of damage taken from the 'interrogators' had affected his sense of balance as well as his right arm meaning that he would never be able to fly again.

"Cassie."

"William." She smiled

"How are you?"

"Fine thanks. How's the knee?"

"A bit stiff, must be the time of year." He smiled slightly as she chuckled. "Padre?"

"I am quite well, just compiling some information from our brothers and sisters elsewhere," the Padre explained. "It seems that a slight problem has arisen for the government. A ship full of survivors from the attack on your world has been returned by your people."

"What, when?"

"Within the last two months. We have only just been able to contact our people on Caprica. The information gathered has come from our best agent in their ranks."

"This…. Gremlin you called him?"

"He, she, we don't know," the Padre replied still looking through the printouts. "A low level ship dropped a few supplies and these files off yesterday. A heavy cruiser arrived in Caprica orbit alongside one of our Battlestars filled with survivors from the battle or your world."

"We don't know why they would be allowed to return unless it was a goodwill gesture or an attempt to infiltrate our worlds. However, I doubt that the second is in their best interests given the fact the crew will be given a full physical and mental exam to prevent such occurrences," interrupted Cassie. "Anyone coming back from your home world is being treated exactly the same way."

"I doubt your people would care enough to send me back that way." Fitz shook his head,

The Padre shook his head in agreement. "Probably not. That ship could only hold a very few people compared to the possible survivors of the battle itself. Whatever happened to them means that they have been given a rare chance to see their families again, but then there are other reasons to send back prisoners of war at this point."

"False intelligence and propaganda."

"Precisely, the problem is the returned will simply be kept prisoner for the same reasons as the rest of the survivors that returned after the attack on your world. The government are terrified of what the truth will mean to the Colonies if it is revealed that we attacked with no provocation and that we are as heavily outmatched as your stories say we are."

"They saw what we had before I left; I've no clue what'll be waiting for them now especially considering that we're not alone out there."

"Ahh yes, your allies," Gregore continued. "I believe that we found the term Asgard that you used, buried deep in our histories."

"What?" Fitz blinked slightly bewildered at the man's words. "How is that possible?"

The padre looked at the Tau'ri pilot and handed over a book in his hands. Ancient and yellowing pages brittle from use and age Fitz was careful as he handled the leather-bound tome. Slowly he began to read the book his slow but determined studying of the Colonial language holding him in good stead as he continued through the sacred word.

"Something from the tales of the precursor times, these centuries and millennia that we stood as one race on the surface of Kobol. There are passages within the great books and sacred scrolls of our history that tell of a great race of humans that begat our own on the surface of Kobol, the lords that were responsible for humanity in all its forms no matter where they came from…."

_"… then from another land a great race of human like beings appeared to the gods and assisted them as they could to uplift the race of man into another register. This race were as to the Lords as were those of the mortal realm but were of power capable of creating life from death recreating themselves from nothing in a flash of a thousand stars." _A Major with the epaulettes of the Armed Forces Religious Corps spoke in the silence of the room. _"This race younger and less than the Lords were treated as equals in the eyes of both and as gods to the people of Kobo. This people were to be known as the Asgard, the givers of life and creators of stars."_

"Thank you, Major. That will be all."

"Yes, sir. Thank you for your patience Mister President." The Major left the room quickly leaving behind a small group of Admirals and politicians to realise the implications of the discovery of the Tau'ri allied 'Asgard' in their own most sacred of religious texts. Turning to his Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adar looked sullen and worried, far more than he had at any time since their opening strike on Earth.

"A race as powerful and loved as the Lords were are now an enemy of the Colonies! How the hell could we have missed this?!" he demanded."

"We didn't know, Mr President. We couldn't have possibly known," Corman replied. "The Asgard were as much a myth as anything in the Scrolls. The loss of the Lords to us meant the loss of much of the knowledge they had and what was left was lost after the exodus. It's possible they believed that the humans of Earth were also from Kobol as we always believed. They would have helped that world if they had been tricked into it somehow."

"How exactly? Their history is completely different from any of ours. If we can understand their differences and manipulation then why can't the Tau'ri do the same?"

"Unless they are in league with the Tau'ri race?"

"Gentlemen, the fact is that over the course of the last few months the Intel department has been ripping apart everything we've managed to get from the probes from Earth. Radio and televisual signals from the decades beforehand plus personal debriefings of the recovered personnel from the Crusade fleet, and while there's not much there…" He paused momentarily to collect his thoughts. "We believe that President Hayes and the other personnel we've met including the escaped pilot were telling the truth."

"What truth?"

"The Tau'ri aren't an overlord alien race. It's simply another name for the humans of Earth possibly given to them by one of their alien allies as they claimed," Corman replied as he readied himself for comeback from the other officers, something that didn't materialise as he expected. "Their technology may well be recovered from their earlier exploits into deep space as our own is, but they have been able to do it themselves and with only limited help from other races, these Asgard being one of them."

"So we're at war with a race that fell into chaos and pulled itself back up out of the abyss only to find our Lords' old allies and persuade them that they should be the rightful heirs to Asgard's help, technology and friendship instead of us?" General Fulman, the late and lamented General Howard's replacement practically screamed. "I've seen the footage of that damn battle against that monster ship and if they have more than one of those things we might as well surrender now because we are in the deepest feldercarb it's possible to be in!"

"If these are the same Asgard as the original race the Lords were allied with," the Admiral countered. "Another culture could have adopted the names and ways of that race. It's been tens of thousands of years since the Sacred Scrolls and the Books of Knowledge were written. Any number of races could have taken control of their reputation and used it since. You know as well as I do that it's unlikely that any single race could last so long without destroying itself or fighting something bigger and nastier than them."

"Gods above, James!" Admiral Banks sneered at his compatriot. "Did you or did you not see the same footage we did? It's a warship over twenty times the size of a Battlestar blasted to atoms by one; count it, ONE Asgard ship. A weapon that could vaporise a Merc in less than a second and you think that they couldn't have survived all these years?"

"It's the human condition, Will." Admiral Harper shot back. "Humanity has almost wiped itself out three times in out history. The Tau'ri's own histories say the same damned thing and if they were able to the Cylons would simply annihilate every human in the Colonies."

"But these creatures aren't human," Banks replied. "How the hell do we know what they could survive over the millennia? For all we know they live for thousands of years each. The lords were said to have visited Kobol again and again for thousands of years, the same lords every time."

"So what?" Harper snarled. "The Asgard aren't the Lords and we have no proof that they or anyone else can live beyond a normal human lifespan."

"And we don't have evidence that they can't," Banks replied. "We won't know until we talk to them and we can't do that while they are only in the pockets of the Tau'ri or whatever they are really called."

"Enough," Corman interrupted. "This isn't the time or place for a theological discussion. We have information that the Tau'ri are building a number of massive ships to bring the war to us. We know that they are in collusion with one or more non-human races, including possible links to the Cylons, thanks to gun footage of their fighter craft. That's at the very least three races against us, two of which can attack us with impunity, and a third that can tell them of most of our weaknesses above and beyond those they found on our ships."

"So then we send a force out, a long term and long range well equipped force to find the Asgard and tell them the truth about what's going on and why we should be the ones being helped, not the Tau'ri and their hellhole of a planet."

"With what, exactly? We've barely scraped up the remaining ships we could put together to reinforce the fleet we have. Ragnar isn't up to full power yet. The remaining ships at Sagittaron the rest of the fleet yards are already completed and outfitted finally bringing our Battlestar strength up to the same power it was before the attack on Earth and that's with the ships we rescued from our own scrap yards. Where exactly do you expect to find that kind firepower?" Stark groused. "Then there are the crews, the fighters, the bombers, the supplies to do so. I don't know if you've noticed this Harper, but the Colonies got frakked in the arse this last year. We don't have the ability to send out any force of ships that might be necessary to find these Asgard aliens."

"Then we don't send Battlestars, we send cruisers and destroyers with freighters and tankers escorting them. A simple convoy that says we don't mean any harm but we're ready to fight if we have to."

"And when they stop pissing themselves laughing, we start a fight with them?" Fulman growled. "Have you really lost what remains of your senses James?"

"I don't see anyone else coming up with ideas to do this do you?" Harper all but shouted. "The second the Earth people get those ships running, armed with weapons that can blow a Warstar in half given to them by an enemy we didn't even know we had, we're frakked! We might as start learning Amer-Britainase, or whatever the frak they call it, now!"

"You mean you haven't already started?" someone murmured loudly enough so that almost everyone in the room could hear.

"Will you all shut up!" Adar ordered loudly. "We're in trouble no matter what we try to do here. The Asgard need to be told who and what we are and that we're not the enemy. So we're going to send a ship out. I want a Type Three or Four Battlestar outfitted with as many supplies as it can carry, strip out its Vipers and Raptors if you have to but I want it filled with anything needed to keep it operational and the crew alive until they complete their mission, Corman nodded at the order but was interrupted before he could say anything. Adar had brushed off the attempt to interrupt him and continued. "Reduce the crew as much as you can to make it safer."

"Sir, a Type Three isn't particularly well set up for neither long range exploration nor can it carry the supplies needed to do so. A Type Four even less so considering their ages." General Brooks, head of R&D spoke up. "Even with a full refit to improve the recycling, mining and refining systems, a Type Three would have to return home in eighteen months at the maximum."

"General, if the ship sent isn't successful there may not be any Colonies to return to." Adar looked at the other man. "Do what you can. We can't risk sending out anything bigger just in case."

"Yes, Mister President," Brooks replied. "I must inform you that it will cut into production of several ships when we start this project."

"I know, see to it." The President looked shaken and somewhat ashen at the truths that had come out during the meeting. They were in bad shape and getting worse with every day that the war continued on. "Is there anything else?"

The rest of the officers were silent at his question most shaking their heads or other wise replying in the negative. Dismissing the assembled brass the room cleared quickly and quietly leaving the President alone with his senior most officer. Corman was as silent as the rest of the room. He, if anything, looked worse than he had earlier that night. Finally he spoke.

"Sir, we've got another problem."

"When don't we?"

"As soon as we can finish decrypting any more information on this Asgard then we have to inform the Quorum and the College of Pontiffs. The proof we have legitimises most of the content of the books of knowledge about the Asgard. They exist."

"Yes I know. Livia's going to love this one."

"Even the Pontiffs will have to admit this one, Mr President. But it might not be in their favour to repeal their findings about the books themselves. They are already sending their routine complaints and demands to all offices wanting to know what is going to happen and when. Some are even demanding access to top secret information they are well aware they are not in any way allowed to see."

"Livia and her people have always expected that they can do what they like when they like and the rest of us take it. I'll talk to her personally about this information," he answered. The words formed a bad taste to his mouth. "Whether or not she accepts it, we will keep looking for more information on the Asgard."

"The problem, Mr President, goes deeper than that. Like the Gods and the Lords in the Sacred Scrolls, the Books name several allies by their names. Asgard and Nox are the two we know of but at least two names are mention in regards to the Asgard creatures." Corman looked into Adar's eyes, "Odin the leader of their people and Thor their greatest war leader and soldier."

"And if that was the same Thor on the recording?"

"Then not only is one of the most deadly warriors known to the Lords alive and well, but he's on their side and willing to protect them with his life."

'_Where's that bottle?'_ Adar thought harshly.

**_Wallamaloo Shipyards_**

**_Under Construction_**

**_Australian Outback._**

**_Two thousand miles east of Brisbane._**

Major General Jack O'Neill looked out of the window of the heavily refit Colonial Raptor as the vessel turned in place several hundred meters above the Australian landscape. Sick of being cooped up in meeting after meeting or stuck in the depths of the Crucible, O'Neill had commandeered the first of the newly refit vessels to allow him some flight time while still using his time to continue the inspection tour of the Earth's major defence installations. Slowing significantly from the hundreds of miles an hour the newly renamed Trans-Orbital Shuttlecraft (a name O'Neill was desperately trying to get changed) was travelling, the General and his entourage dropped from just below the speed of sound to a bare trundle through the air.

Far below them, the massive and burgeoning airfield of the new construction site was slowly taking shape amongst the rocks and sands of the Australian outback. The temporary airhead was crowded with Cargo planes, refit Colonial, or Goa'uld cargo ships of various designs lifting off at all hours into the sky as they carried the millions of tons of equipment and material needed to build and supply the slowly shaping bays.

He grinned at the memory of how the shipyard was named as a joke for the original site foreman, an Australian named Bruce Wilson had been the butt of several jokes from the get go and had been forced to undergo the ritual torment of the 'Bruce's Philosophers Song' from Monty Python. Finally giving in and taking the joke he had begun signing off the paperwork for the yard as 'Foreman: Wallamaloo Shipyards. Somehow it had been added to official paperwork and now after several months the name had stuck. It would be changed as of commissioning but for now Wallamaloo was the name and it was staying.

Jack slowed down further as he watched a group of F-302's roll out for the morning patrol. Nearly twenty square miles of resources and industry would be devoted towards the construction and refit of the warships of the SGC allied nations. It had taken nearly a year of political wrangling and demands to even start construction of the needed infrastructure to lay down the badly needed hulls. Now, he could clearly see the ragged outlines of the shipyards undergoing construction, several almost completed on the eastern sector needing just a few more weeks before the first new ships could be started.

Taking his eyes away from the vista, Jack eased himself back into the surprisingly comfortable chair that he had managed to persuade the crews of the refit to install. He had learned that lesson from General Hammond himself. Flying would always be one of his great loves allowing him to get away from the hundreds of requisitions and intelligence reports that had to be signed and notarized before the growing Raider Fleet could leave. Some days he truly regretted allowing President Hayes to promote him out of the field and into a desk job but now he was the one helping to make policy. He was helping to foment the strategic and tactical decisions that could have long reaching impacts on the war with the Colonials, the Wraith, the Lucian Alliance Empire and all the other problems that had cropped up since the downfall of Anubis and the system lords. Slipping his ship around the General dropped down low and hovered over the closest landing pad left empty. He hadn't requested or demanded a berth especially with the constantly moving craft coming in and out of the area. Instead he simply requested landing clearance and waited for confirmation.

Touching down, the marine guard he had been foisted, with scrambled out before he and his ECO climbed out afterwards. More than a few of the workers around them blinked in surprise before returning to their work. Given the urgency of the project military and cleared civilian workers intermingled freely. No one was too interested in a couple of jarheads and flyboys and continued their work.

O'Neill smirked as he continued to walk down the causeway from the pad towards the command central half a mile away. Sometimes being an anonymous pilot was preferable to having every soldier, sailor, air force or marine officer or enlistee stopping at attention or saluting every ten seconds as he made his way down the field to the command and control station. The centre was already ninety percent completed and in use by the construction crews and the stations new command officers.

Dropping off his flight helmet and gear at the locker room, O'Neill headed up the stairs leaving the guards to head for the commissary next door to the command centre. At the very top the station's new foreman and first commander was studying the blueprints while talking over possible changes with the other members of the staff. Looking up at the intruder into his command the man frowned before recognising the other man and smiling slightly, showing as much emotion as his ruined face could allow him to.

"I think I prefer your view to mine. Wanna swap?"

"General O'Neill welcome, I did not know you would be visiting today."

"Perks of being one of the bosses, Narim. Joyrides on new ships and out of the office for a day every so often. Besides Sam and Daniel were bitching about the fact I'd been stuck in the Crucible for the last three weeks and if I didn't get out someone was going to make it an order, I really didn't want them to find out what Teal'c would have said. Probably 'indeed' and that thing he does with his eyebrow which just means that he's saying a dozen things I don't know what."

"A formidable team," Narim interrupted.

"Yeahsureyoubetcha." Jack sighed. "How's things going here?"

"Quite well, thank you, the shipyard is on course for completion within the next six months," Narim replied hoarsely, his injuries were too severe and old to be repaired completely by any known medical science and as with most of his people Narim didn't trust the sarcophagus technology that the Tau'ri were attempting to replicate leaving him to struggle on with the partially repaired injuries and prosthetics he was using. "The Asgard and Tok'ra technologies have allowed us to excavate the needed areas as well as to build up the first tier of yard space for the destroyers and Prometheus class we have booked for construction. It will take more time for the larger shipyards to be completed for the Daedalus class. Fortunately the Asgard and Tollan technologies are capable of being fused but even that will take months before the first keels of the largest ships can be laid."

"Don't worry about that, the other yards will pick up the slack on those things until you get this place in shape." O'Neill looked over the place. "Needs a couple of paintings, maybe a wall hanging or something."

"The decorating will begin on Tuesday," Narim replied.

"You got the plans for the other classes that the British and that thing Germany came up with?"

"Indeed, the 'Commando Carrier' I believe you call it, is feasible if unnecessary at the current time but we will begin a proof of concept when the shipyards are at full capacity." The Tollan leaned against the table. "Forgive me I am still getting used to the prosthetic."

"Nah that's ok. Sit down if you need to."

"Thank you, as I was saying we have also received the original designs for both the 303 and 304, and the refit variants that your own people have come up with. Your plasma weapons and enhanced rail weapons are impressive even if somewhat primitive in comparison. However, I will be making a request to your office sometime soon in regards to these plans."

"Gimme a hint?"

"We want to reconstruct it from the hull upwards. The systems and equipment installed could be made more efficient, more powerful and above all hardier than much of what you are using at the moment. Tollan engineering would have made the ship a fifth to a quarter smaller while keeping the design as powerful as it currently is. However, given the abilities that the Tau'ri have shown in engineering yourselves I would request some of the original designers to assist us if they can be spared."

"I'll ask, but Area 51 got most of them back and the rest are either at Alpha Yards or on Atlantis. Besides, we need this place up and running within the year otherwise the IOA will be at our necks again."

"I though that the civilians of your oversight committees agreed to leave the SGC and your homeworld command alone to conclude the war against your enemies?"

"They did and they are but the purse strings are still held tighter than a duck's butt." He'd explain what a duck was later. "This shipyard is the second biggest single pay out for the defence of this planet in history. Twenty nine countries have thrown in costs but want a say in what happens to the yards and the fleet, which is great if we want a nice big community agreement on who the blow the crap out of next," Jack snarked. "Once the yard is up and running, we'll be able to build up enough of a fleet to hold the high ground over the colonies, to destroy their ships, and if necessary take their government by force."

"A decapitation strike?" Narim winced at the jerky movement his prosthetic leg sent through his body, a small discomfort though it meant he could walk unaided around the command centre. "Destroy their seats of government and the rest should follow."

"Yeah, maybe, but the Colonies ain't exactly the Union here. Take down one planet and the rest may follow, or we end up fighting a half dozen small fronts while the rest stay out of the fight, or they might all pile in." Jack shook his head. "It's worse than fighting the snakes. At least we knew they'd turn on each other in the end. Here they might do that, turn on themselves or use big nukes on their planets to keep them out of our hands, I really hope that Intel gang was smoking something when they came up with that scenario, cos I really can't believe anyone sane would end up doing that."

"Sane people rarely invade worlds that do not deserve it, but then sane people would never allow for their arrogance to blind them into allowing their technology to dictate their lives," Narim replied. "The Tollan lost everything because we believed we were in the right with every decision we made. The Colonials went to war and have lost much because of their belief that they are correct to attack the Earth and its people. Some want to see your world under their heel while others will truly think that our people are wayward and should be brought back into the fold. The same will go for any other human population in the Galaxy."

"They think we're bad now. Just wait until they face the other races. Hell, the Jaffa won't think twice about blowing away their ships and nuking a planet's surface these days."

"I agree, however your release of survivors will put an increasing amount of fear into the people of the Twelve Colonies. If you push too much then a response may be their only recourse. If that happens, then one side or the other will have to push back harder. The Colonies have no technological advantage over your ships. The have a less effective doctrine, given their limits compared to your own. Their only advantage is a quantitative one in size and numbers of vessels they have available."

"Yeah, but we'd see 'em coming, and those worlds are a hell of a long way from here."

"Yeah, but they know where we are exactly and even with their ass-backward way of doing things sooner or later they'll figure out how to get close enough to attack again. They know there's more out there in the Galaxy apart from us and might end up finding stuff we don't want them to." Jack grimaced at the thought of some of the enemies they had and the possibility that one or more could have found the Colonies long ago. The idea of sixty billion people under the control of one person was a really bad night's sleep for O'Neill. He should know he'd had that nightmare a whole week running before.

"That is true; the size of their warships are impressive., as is their means of faster than light travel."

"Yeah they got the drop on us with that thing. It's just as well we're figuring out how to build them ourselves and trying to find a way to jam it."

"Wouldn't it be easier to acquire it from the Colonial home system?"

"It would if we knew how they did it. Hell, most of the POWs don't even know if FTL jamming is possible.

"Then they would be at a disadvantage to anyone attacking using a better and more accurate version of the drive itself," Narim mused. "If we begin production of the drive once we have finished modifying it to suit our own technologies it could be a formidable weapon for the Tau'ri and its allies."

"Like the Tollan." Jack smirked, and Narim shook his head without offence at the other man's words.

"If only, General O'Neill. The Tollan are a dying race once again. We may have saved a scant few thousand out of our former population but it will never be enough to revive our people to what we once were. All we have left is our legacy, and maybe our reputation will be enough for those to remember my race once the last of us are gone."

Narim himself was the last of the Curia, the Tollan ruling council and de-facto spokesman for the survivors of his people. Thanks to the Tau'ri's use of a Stargate 'borrowed' from a dead world the Tollan had been evacuated to the planet the soldiers had called the 'Alpha Site', there a large number of medics, aid workers and soldiers had been awaiting the hodge podge of survivors from across their world. His own enclave had been the first to be evacuate followed by others they had known of and then more besides that they hadn't, tunnels, caves and mountains had been used by the few of them left.

Of those that survived several including Narim himself had thrown themselves whole heartedly into helping the Tau'ri in their struggle against the myriad of dangers of space, something more than a few of their people believed they should have done all along. The Curia had refused to assist the other humans due to a mistake made years before with their neighbouring planer only deciding to change that decision in order to entice the Tau'ri into helping them destroy other worlds as puppets to Anubis

Narim and a handful of others had joined Homeworld Security to help them construct the shipyards and other defence stations, helping to hybridise the technologies that the Asgard and Humans of both worlds had brought to the fore. A few remaining scientists and mechanics were assisting with Research and Design for new weapons and technologies for the fleet and to defend their new homeworld.

However like several of his own people a significant minority of the survivors believed that the Tau'ri were responsible for the destruction of their world and way of life, that if the two races had never met then the Tollan wouldn't have been in the sights of Anubis or any other system lord. The fact that the Tau'ri had been responsible for the survival of their race three times now had escaped most of them, even the confession that the Curia were to send a bomb through to destroy Earth hadn't swayed the others to Narim's point of view.

As it stood several hundred of their people were refusing to return with the SGC personnel to Earth and safety preferring to strike out on their own, salvaging what they can and building a community on the ravaged planet. Narim shook his head slightly bringing himself out of his thoughts and turned back to the still talking O'Neill

"… besides you gave us big guns and a lot of other stuff Narim. If I get my say we'll build a hockey stadium after you." Jack looked over the shipyards. "This is a big place."

"And it will get progressively larger over the next few years, General. The design elements of the next generation of warships will be complete by the time the last of the slipways here are completed. Then the new slips will be required."

"Yeah, maybe I can get an Enterprise out of it."

"I believe that your navy still controls that name."

"Yeah and they won't decommission the carrier so I can get that damned name…" Jack turned to Narim. "How the hell did you know… Daniel or Sam?"

"Both informed me as to the list of names that you have for warships and that several would not be allowed. I took the liberty of doing some research but I do not understand the significance of several of them. However, I am aware to the historical reputation of the name Enterprise in several navies and the legacy such a name would give to any ship using that name."

"Try looking up the starship Enterprise one day. You'll get it then."

"I shall endeavour to do so."

Turning away from the windows, the two men left the control room and headed down into the lower reaches headed for the commissary; however, the silence was interrupted by an irate voice from the descending staircase.

"Hey, if the navy has the name how the hell did NASA get an Enterprise!?"


	25. Book 2 Chapter Two

**_Chapter 2 (23)_**

**_Battlestar Pegasus_**

**_Mercury Class Battlestar_**

**_Colonial Border_**

The depths of space beyond the former 'Red Line' was silent and empty, the borderline between the Colonies and unexplored space had changed as the demand for resources and new technologies had overtaken the fear of what could exist outside of the Colonial sector. Singularly or in small groups, heavy cruisers and older battlecruisers of the war era Colonial fleet had been refit and dispatched to the nearest sectors and any solar system that may have yielded materials for the war effort.

A flash of light appeared in an outer system of the old border depositing one damaged, patched together and partially intact Colonial Battlestar. Missing the ubiquitous hanger bays and showing the patches holding in atmospheric pressure the massive warship was a sorry sight to anyone expecting a majestic and sweeping appearance of a typical Mercury Class Battlestar.

"Jump complete." Colonel Belzen called out as the Pegasus dropped out of FTL, the discomfort of the jump receding as the crew got their feet under them.

The months long journey back home was finally closing to an end, Cain nodded as she looked up at the flickering DRADIS screens. With luck the weeks long travelling from the Tau'ri's local sectors back to the colonies would be all but over, Cain grimaced at the thought of what might be awaiting her.

"Status," Cain ordered.

"All systems online, FTL engines running hot. Coils are cooling but will take time before we can jump again," a Lt said from the back of the CIC. "Remaining weapons system are primed and loaded, last two nukes are in the tubes and awaiting launch clearance."

"Location."

"Checking now," the Lt, a Libran named Gibson replied. "DRADIS is cycling through local stellar objects."

A young Ensign from the panel next to Gibson answered. "Admiral, I'm picking up a couple of strong military looking signals in the area most of them are probably border guard units or Battlestars, computers and warbook are running IFF Idents. I'm also reading one very heavy long range signal reading as… Sir, it's reading as Caprica Command and Control Beacon One Alpha."

"Confirmed," Gibson nodded. "Stellar object comparison puts us just behind the border systems of the Cyrannus Sector, just in front of the red line.

"It worked Admiral." Belzen smiled as the crew around them began to cheer knowing that they were only a jump or so from safety. "We're home."

"Not yet we're not." Cain grimaced as the cheers finally died out. "We're AWOL, remember."

"Yeah, I know but all things considered Admiral, we made it back mostly intact and with lots of Intel."

"If they let us say anything without simply shooting us." Cain shook her head before turning to Gibson. "Lt, anything on those IFFs?"

"Just coming through now, sir." He replied. "Closest read as Battlestars Triumph and Warrior and DesRon 128. Computer designates them as most of Battlestar Group 17. Oohh, sir, I think they've seen us."

"Activate our IFF beacon," Cain ordered, "and shut down all active defences. We don't want to be shot down this close to home."

**_Battlestar Warrior_**

**_Mercury Class Battlestar_**

**_Flagship: BSG 17_**

The condition two alert sounded as the signal coalesced on the DRADIS screen. All across the CIC personnel called out demanding reports from other sections while ordering their sections to alert. Computers pinpointed the unknown arrival locking the ship's heavy spinal weapons, turrets and nuclear missiles on target.

The other ships of the Battlestar Group followed in the wake of the leviathan as it turned slowly towards the signal, the Triumph taking point slightly above the Warrior unmasking the larger ship's main cannons and giving it a straight line point of view on the newly arrived vessel. The eight destroyers of her escort group manoeuvred into position above and below allowing them to overlap their firepower against any missile or fighter attack.

"Status." Admiral Campbell strode onto the bridge alongside his XO. "What have we got out there?"

"One ship, unknown vessel supped in one minute ten seconds ago." The officer of the deck replied. "All ships are in formation."

"Any IFF?"

"Yes Sir but we need to have it verified."

"Why?"

"The IFF is Flagship BSG 62, Pegasus."

"Pegasus?" Campbell questioned. "She went missing from the Crusade fleet a year and a half ago."

"Yes sir, she's been listed as AWOL and is to be held under guard if discovered."

"Send raptors out to the rest of the Battlegroup and have them get back here as soon as possible and send another out to BSG 33 requesting immediate relief for our ships. We'll be returning to the Colonies within the day." Campbell order before he looked to his exec and shook his head. "David, spool up the FTL coils and calculate a pinpoint jump to her port side, main weapons head on."

"Yes, sir," the exec replied. "Helm, calculate FTL jump to BS-62 port side, ten thousand kilometres distance."

"Calculating, sir."

A close range jump was difficult to do even at the best of times and this was no exception, the huge computer banks of the Warrior crunched the numbers needed within a minute and with the course laid out the entire flotilla jumped into range of the Pegasus. Moments later, an entire squadron of missile armed Mark Six Vipers launched from the two starboard side bays directly above and below the crippled Battlestar.

_"Doberman to Warrior Actual."_

"This is Actual what have you got?"

_"It's a Battlestar alright, I… Sir I'm not sure what the hell happened to this thing but it's a mess."_ The ship's CAG replied. _"I'm transmitting back camera footage now."_

"We're reading the footage, Doberman. You are confirmed for a full flyby."

_"Roger that Actual."_

In the Warrior's CIC, the Admiral and several of his command crew were watching the visual transmission from the fighter bomber. The damage to the Mercury class ship was incredible to fathom. They had all seen impacts from light and heavy cannons aboard the Colonial Warships as well as pictures and videos of atomic weapons and the scars and burns left behind after their detonations, but nothing, absolutely nothing had prepared them for this.

The missing bays had been cut off and the ragged ends of the pylons sealed up with slabs of armour from other vessels creating a smooth but discoloured area on the flanks of the ship. The front of the vessel had taken some kind of impact blowing an entire section off of the 'head' taking at least one of the guns offline and probably damaging at least one other. Worse yet the entire front and underside showed the burns and scratches of a close range pass through a planetary causing atmosphere furrows and cracks across the top layer of the armour.

Passing above and below the vessel the true extent of the damage was more than obvious. A massive, hole had been roughly covered over by armour plating and what looked like bulkheads of a smaller ship, and heavy thick welds kept them in place while a framework was just as crudely slapped over the top and bolted down to the upper and lower hulls.

"Good Gods," A younger officer said. "How in the hell did they manage to get home in that?"

Campbell couldn't help but agree with that; any ship that had taken that much damage should never have been able to jump let alone all the way from the other side of known space. The Mercuries were strong ships, one of the strongest classes every built and the second flight ships such as the Pegasus and the Warrior were even more so. For a vessel as powerful as a Type One Heavy Battlestar to take this kind of damage to her hull and to continue on home was something that no-one could ever have imagined. How Cain had kept her ship and crew alive was nothing short of a miracle.

"Doberman this is Actual, pull away and return to your squadron. Then have all fighters return to the Warrior."

_"Sir, are you sure?"_

"That ship isn't going anywhere, Major. Return to base."

_"Aye, sir._

**_Battlestar Pegasus_**

**_Mercury Class Battlestar_**

On the DRADIS screen aboard the Pegasus the seven ships on the screen reoriented from their patrol path directly for the location of the Battlestar, moments later the Battlestar group disappeared from the DRADIS only to appear in formation to the flank of the crippled and jury rigged Pegasus. The forward cannons of her sister ship Warrior and the smaller Guardian class Triumph were locked, loaded and perfectly willing to fire on the Pegasus if she even twitched a gun turret in their direction.

A squadron of heavily armed fighters erupted from one of the bays heading for the rear of the Pegasus, one of their number peeling for an obvious flyby of the Battlestar. The exact same thing Cain would have done in their position had she any fighters left to work with and short of launching her few remaining raptors she had to go with what her DRADIS and visual readings were telling her, something that to her chagrin she knew she wouldn't be able to do without risking someone firing off half cocked.

"Think it's something we said?" Cain quipped. "Comms open a channel to Warrior Actual."

"Opening Channel." Ensign Koplan nodded, "You're on, Admiral."

_"This is Admiral Kevin Campbell of the Warrior to Pegasus Actual."_ A deep voice came over the radio. _"Helena what the hell did you do to that thing?"_

"Warrior Actual this is Pegasus Actual, same thing you did to your Viper picking up that lady friend of yours at the Tactical Training College. Rode her hard and put something…."

_"That's enough Helena. It's good to see you."_

"You too Kevin, sorry to jump in unannounced."

_"Me too Helena. Your ship is to stand down and stand by for boarding."_

Cain nodded at his words, as it wasn't something that she hadn't expected. "I thought as much, our ships' in a pretty bad state, our hull is strained and we pushed our FTL drive past safe limits to get back home, the coils need time to cool off."

_"Understood, your crew will be left in charge of your ship but you will hand over critical positions to a boarding team from the Warrior and from the Triumph is that understood."_

"Understood Admiral, we're awaiting your crews."

"Warrior is launching Raptors as is Triumph; several have left the area via FTL." Gibson reported a minute or so later, "The rest are heading this way."

"We have your raptors on DRADIS. We're open up the hanger bay for your people."

"I see…." He had had a good look at the massive doors that had been crudely cut and welded into place on the flank of the Battlestar, "Very well Admiral, we'll head into the Cyrannus sector as soon as our relief ships make an appearance."

_"Admiral, I would appreciate it if you moved to the handset."_ Campbell acquiesced to the request and Cain heard the click of the radio handset overriding the overhead speakers, quietly she spoke into her own.

"Kevin, we need to get back as soon as we can we have information the Admiralty needs to see, possibly serious enough to change the face of the war."

_"That's beyond my pay grade Helena,"_ the Warrior's CO replied, _"Right now you are one of the most wanted ships in Colonial space. Look, I'll come over there and brief you on the latest out here before we jump to the waypoint."_

"Waypoint? Why not directly to Picon?"

_"As I said there's a lot you need to know Helena and quickly. I'll be over in twenty minutes. Warrior Actual out."_

"The other ships are standing down, weapons are returning to stowed positions. Viper Sixes are returning to the Warrior," Belzen said. "Looks like we're in the clear."

"On the contrary, Colonel." Cain replied, "We're in even worse than we thought."

**_Cain's Quarters_**

**_Battlestar Pegasus_**

A knock on the cabin door alerted the Admiral to the visitors at the door, a quick call out had the hatch open wide allowing in a virtual bear of a man through. The mood changed from one of serious thought and contemplation to one of familiarity and joy as the larger man approached Cain from the other side of the quarters.

"Kevin." Cain smiled widely at her long time friend as he strode up embracing the far smaller slight woman. "It's good to see you again. It's been what, four years?"

"About that and you've been on mission or missing for most of two." The broad black-skinned man smiled back before sobering, "We need to talk, Helena."

"I know," She began. "I knew what we were expecting when we got back. I took my ship and crew AWOL as well as those cruisers. But we had to do something; running away like that showed our weakness in the face of the Tau'ri." Cain poured a coffee for both of them before handing one over to Campbell. "Not that it mattered considering how many ships we lost before escaping, too damn many that's for sure."

"I noticed you came back alone; guess you used the ships you still had to keep the Pegasus going. Not sure I'd have done the same, though." He accepted the coffee. "I won't mince words Helena, but you taking then losing those other ships on top of everything else that's happened might get you shot for desertion at best and at worst dishonourably discharged, put through the courts, vilified, THEN shot."

"Sounds like I might need a good lawyer."

"You'd need a miracle." Campbell sighed. "A day or so after the Crusade fleet attacked Earth, one of their ships counter attacked the colonies."

"Frak." Her eyes widened. "How the hell did they get here that fast, their ships are slow and primitive at FTL speeds."

"Command thought there was a base around here they could have been launching from. We sent out hundreds of ships to find it only to find out there wasn't." Campbell looked up. "You saw how powerful those ships are first hand?"

"Yeah, took hundreds of nukes and kept coming."

"Apparently their FTL was as powerful as their defences. The ship was identified as one that was over Earth during the massacre of our fleet." The senior Admiral slumped slightly. "Their ship jumped in above Picon and launched fighters. A combined launch of missiles from both the warship and the fighters hit the Anchorage before the defences could get more than a few shots off. Most of the station, the ships inside, anything docked and the supply yards were destroyed in the attack."

Cain's eyes widened as she stood up straighter. "That's impossible! Nothing could have killed the anchorage that quickly."

"Whatever the hell they had in their weapons lockers was nastier than anything we've got or can guess at. Warstars, Battlestars and other heavy ships were killed in the attack along with three destroyer flotillas and everything that was under construction for the follow-up fleet. The estimated impact was over a hundred gigatons combined, and then things got worse, much worse."

"How… how can it be worse?"

"Our shipyards held most of the current generation of nuclear weapons for the fleet plus some things that no-one should put on a station let alone a planet, what survived the attack by the Tau'ri ship dropped out of orbit and hit Picon directly. Radioactive materials, tainted debris, anything that was big enough to collide with the surface over the course of a few days." Campbell sighed again. "The entire planet has been rendered uninhabitable and quarantined by the Quorum and the fleet, the survivors from that planet have been scattered across the colonies where they can be taken in. But in essence the planet and its culture are gone."

"I… that… what… Picon's been destroyed?"

"Completely."

"Their defences were the most sophisticated in the Colonies. Nothing should have broken through to destroy the Anchorage, nothing."

"We weren't expecting a counterattack so soon. Intelligence believed that the Tau'ri's FTL system was slow and primitive compared to ours. Hell, the Prometheus was proof of that, turns out they were wrong and their ship, the Odyssey if you wanted to know, attacked Picon and confirmation came from the other ships of the fleet when they returned that it was one of the ships from the attack on Earth. They got here months before our fleet were anywhere near home."

Helena forced herself to sit down before she fell over. Earth had been able to attack the Colonies? How and when had they been able to, the remaining fleet over Picon should have been enough to take down one of their ships especially after the damage they must have taken from the Crusade fleet. Her eyes closed as she realised that the attack could have been the consequence of her own attack on Earth when they had been least expecting it, but her missiles had been intercepted as had most of the cruisers. To attack and destroy an entire planet was insane! The Colonials had never wanted to destroy Earth just to take possession of it meaning that firing nukes at their surface was a last attempt to force the issue.

"So what now? Where do we head for if Picon's gone?"

"I can't tell you Helena, we'll escort you to the waypoint and you'll be taken from there to another outpost. The Admiralty have not deigned to allow the rest of us to know where it is and why we're sending our ships there but they have to be escorted in and out. The rest of the Crusade fleet is still sitting there with their crews and no-one's heard from them in over a year."

"What? Why?"

"Rumours of illnesses like the plague, something that if let loose will wipe out the colonies without the Tau'ri having to lift a finger."

"Plague, what the frak?! There was no contact between our people at all, how could there be any illness?"

"Helena they did something." Campbell said quietly, "some kind of illness came out of the attack on Picon, we don't know how it appeared if it's one of ours. But it is one of theirs and it spread from the refugees and the fleet personnel that helped them. It's devastated the rest of the Colonies Helena, enough that Sagittaron is almost depopulated and the rest of the colonies have lost tens of millions of not more people to it. _That's_ what the Adar and his goons have the public worried about."

"And now?"

"The Plague is under control and most of the Colonies are now inoculated against it and the families of the sailors and soldiers want to know when they'll be able to see their family members again and from the sounds of it things are getting worse for Adar the longer he refuses to allow the fleet to disperse back out into the colonies. The idiot is still prevaricating and is somehow hoping that the public will calm down now that the plague is under control. He can't keep them there much longer without us seeing a full scale mutiny aboard the fleet both inside and outside the Crusade ships."

Cain closed her eyes shaking her head. "Anything else?"

"Yeah, a few months after that the Tau'ri detonated an EMP bomb over Caprica. The power of that bomb was incredible, caused massive blackouts and damage to the surrounding area. Ships, stations even a number of orbital power stations were knocked out, tens of thousands killed as their personal craft or ground vehicles were affected by the pulse."

Her eyes shot back up. "By the gods, why?"

"I don't know and Adar's people aren't saying. They just claim it to be a terrorist attack by the Tau'ri." Campbell shrugged. "Like they needed to."

Cain's face crumpled as her friend continued, the damage done to the fleet then the rout back to the colonies had been for nothing if the Tau'ri could attack with impunity like this. It took them years to build the supply stations and warships for the fleet and their entire attack had done less than two raids by the Tau'ri. If their foes on Earth could pull off this kind of attack without the Colonial fleet stopping them or retaliating what did it mean for the Colonies?

They could only hope two attacks for two attacks was enough revenge for them until the fleet could find a way to neutralise any possible strike that the Tau'ri could mount. Campbell finished his brief and sat his mug on the side of her desk.

"Helena if the Earth people wanted to come back and kill the rest of the colonies then nothing we can do could stop them, Picon and Sagittaron are all but wiped out and billions more are ill or recovering from the plague. Their attacks were quick and effective and showed us that that they have technology and tactics that we can't counter and they are willing to use them. It's been eighteen months since the battle and if we've been building up then so have they."

"They had six ships Kevin. Six! If they had had just one or two more then none of us would have made it out alive. If they've even doubled that number now, then we can kiss our asses goodbye."

Campbell's head rose at that, "Wait a second – six ships?"

"Yeah, we got at least one maybe two of them. Frank Cunningham took his Atlantia and rammed one of their more powerful ships. A destroyer took down an unfinished second ship the same way. In the end, it's all we had to go on and it worked. I doubt it will again though."

"So that's what Adar meant, son of a bitch."

"What did he say?" Cain asked.

Campbell grimaced almost bearing his teeth in anger at the stupidity of the President's office. The colonies and most of all the fleet had been heartened to know that while losing so many ships to the Tau'ri that they had taken down enough of the other side's forces to stop them attacking the Colonies en masse. To find out that more than two hundred ships had been lost while only destroying two of the enemy would crush the morale of practically every Colonial in the system.

"He said that we'd destroyed or cripple over a third of their forces in the battle." Campbell snorted. "He might have been right but he missed out the fact that there were only a few ships against us."

"Their technology is so far more advanced than our own Kevin. The Zeus was taken out before she had a chance to jump by some kind of energy weapon on the Prometheus. She must have killed more than a dozen ships on her own; we had no chance against that kind of power."

"That wasn't made public knowledge either," the big man mused. "That has to be one of the reasons they've kept the crusade fleet separated from the rest of us. If this got out then Adar and his lackeys would be in the deepest shit possible. It also explains why any ships and personnel that have come into direct contact with them have been kept away."

"Seems like there's a lot more that the rest of the colonies don't know, and we have to make sure that it doesn't get out in any way. If it did…."

"Then the public goes apeshit, the fleet forces their way to the station and releases the ships held there and the government falls as the religious idiots, scared public and greedy bastards of all kinds decide to use it to their benefit," he sighed. "People need to know this and there's no way we can let them and that bastard of a President knows it."

"What now?"

"That's it for now, Helena." Campbell nodded. "Lords know we need to do something about this, but until something else comes around, We'll have to keep playing the game, the Valkyrie came back a few months ago from a mission to the Tau'ri home system. When you get to the outpost talk with him maybe you can find something else out from him."

"Things can't be easy wherever they are." At two years away from home and their loved ones she knew that the rest of the fleet would be feeling the pressure. Her own crew had had their life or death struggle to keep their minds occupied and now she would be forced to tell them that they were going to be forced to stay aboard a half crippled ship and without a word of their survival to their families.

Belzen was not going to be amused.

"They never are, the rest of the fleet's gradually been put back in order but we're still down on Class One and Two Battlestars for now. At least the situation now until the Crusade ships are fleet is finally released and the remaining yards pull their thumbs out their asses."

"And the Pegasus?"

"We'll give you a few more hours for the coils to cool down then we'll head back," he said as the phone trilled on Cain's desktop, Campbell smirked. "Speak of the Devil, that's probably my ship on the horn."

"Possibly." Cain smirked back before picking up the phone. "Cain, yes… understood… we'll be right there."

"And?"

"The Indis just jumped in with her Battlegroup." Cain knew the Nova Class ship and its Commander well considering the rivalry between their respective Battlestar groups; it was just her recent luck that would have had that ship leading the relief force for the Warrior. "She's broadcasting orders for an immediate jump for your ships and mine, your ship responded with a negative."

"Frak." Campbell pushed himself out of the chair, "I better get back to the Warrior and defuse Grahams' fit when she heard that response."

"Better you than me, old friend." Cain replied before standing up herself, "Suppose we should get this over and done with."

"Agreed. I'm sorry I have to do this, Helena." He received a wordless nod as they both came to attention, "Rear Admiral Helena Cain you are hereby relieved of your command of Battlestar Group Six-Two and of its flagship Battlestar Pegasus, under the charge of defying orders of a superior officer, theft of Colonial Capital Property, conspiracy to mutiny alongside other ships of the Colonial Fleet and of being Absent Without Leave. You are to be remanded to your personal quarters until the aforementioned Pegasus is secure at a to be disclosed location where you will be confined to a brig or other secure quarters off of ship, do you understand these charges and do you understand you are to abide by the statutes of Criminal action as put down in the Colonial Regulations for the Navy?"

"I do and I will."

"Very well, you are relieved of duty and your crew will be informed by me momentarily." The senior officer knew that the junior admiral was a good woman and would obey her superiors. "For what it's worth Helena, you are a hell of an officer. I hope that whatever you have on board will be enough to get you off whatever charges are brought."

"I think it might be." Cain looked him in the eyes, "I think it just might be."

**_The Crucible_**

**_Homeworld Security Command Centre_**

**_Nevada_**

In his time with the armed forces Jack O'Neill had always found himself envying some of the other professions that he could have gone into. He joined up like many others in order to become a pilot or failing that, some kind of air crew before finding himself tapped for the Air Force's elite forces group called the helljumpers. Going through basic training he's envied the civilians their easy way into the Department of Defence. While undergoing his pilot training he likewise envied the systems technicians and the construction trades and finally going through his special forces training and follow on missions he had envied those who had never even thought of joining up.

Finally, once he had made it to his first star he had begun to envy those still in the field like his teammates and friends on SG1 or Colonel Reynolds and his gang of reprobates. Hell, he even envied the rock collectors on SG9 their chance to head through the stone doughnut and into the ether. But for all his years he had never and would never envy Paul Davis his job as the political go between for the SGC/HWS and the Pentagon as well as the face for both in the eyes of the IOA and the public at large.

Having known the man for almost a decade including one foothold situation where a much younger Major Davis had helped him defeat the aliens from inside the SGC whilst others outside had done the same, O'Neill had never had any doubt that the man's loyalty was to his country and his sympathies to the SGC and its people. He had made the choice of a junior Colonel in the armed forces as his exec for those same reasons plus the fact that he could and would remove O'Neill from command, if necessary through force up to and including shooting him.

It has also given him an experienced officer to liaise with the IOA and the outside world to let them all know what was going on. His position at a mid-level rank had been sneered at by senior ranking officers whom believed someone senior should have been assigned in his place. Fortunately for Davis the two most senior men in the chain of command had told them where to shove it and put him in the job, one that he had been more than capable of.

Jack pushed a neat scotch across to the younger officer as the man sat down opposite him. Pressing a concealed switch the doors and windows to his office went opaque and activated a high level security screen around the entire room. Paul looked up at the General and watched the older man remove the velcro tabs with the stars on them. At the same time Paul removed the rank slides on his shoulders dropping them to the table.

No words needed be said- no rank, no décor, no record.

"Frankly Paul, you look like shit."

"You try sitting in on the IOA for three days trying to get them to actually realise they are fucking up everything that we need to do to protect this planet. Although, they did admit that some of their decisions were stupid and have decided finally to step out of the way of the raider fleet. But, I'm willing to bet my pension one of them will take credit for the idea and how it worked out."

"Suckers's bet." Jack watched the Colonel take a drink before finally relaxing, "But as long as they keep their noses out, we'll get our work done."

"The Russians were pissed off we wouldn't let them put the Potemkin or the Korolev into the Raider fleet, I explained the fact that we needed a few good experienced and bloodied ships around Earth and the rest of the IOA agreed with the point."

"Didn't tell them the truth?"

"What, that we didn't trust them enough to let them use enhance nukes that close to a sovereign power that they have a vendetta against them? Hell, no."

"Good plan. Sooner or later they'd do it anyway and we couldn't stop them."

"No, we couldn't." Paul leaned back in his chair. "Not unless we took control of their ships off of them. Besides, almost every ship including the Korolev has the override system aboard and they'd be even more pissed to know we could take their flagship away from them at any time."

"Just as well only you and me know about it."

"How are we the only ones, who know about it? Who programmed it in?"

"Some engineers that are now on Atlantis, well an engineer, The other two are dead."

"Damn." Paul changed the subject. "Oh, and most wanted us to move the Houdini system command to Geneva. I told them not a chance with the British keeping hold of it. Hughes was pissed off, McClusky was amused and the others didn't seem to care where it was as long as it worked, although the French have asked to share command of the system in case the British system goes down for whatever reason."

"What did McClusky say?"

"He said he'd ask the Prime Minister and let him know."

Actually, that was a good idea. "Good."

"Then they wanted us to promise the next batch of ground to orbital weapons both plasma and railgun types would be secured for use by the IOA defences at their HQ. Apparently they think that what is already in place isn't enough for their tastes."

"What the hell?" Jack exclaimed. "That place is second only to the Crucible in defences and we're six hundred meters underground. There is no way we're giving them any more when the rest of the planet needs the weapons more than they do."

"I informed them that the next ten batches of weapons were to be placed in predetermined areas as well as on the orbital defences. The IOA headquarters would live with what they have. The Chairman and most of the rest were pissed off with me with that."

"Most?"

"The British and French actually agreed with me on it, but given that their countries will be given the next batches for their countries and several colonies or dominions it's a given they would." Paul set his tumbler down. "Days like this… I want to know what I was thinking going into politics let alone taking the second in command position defending the entire planet."

"Because you're a masochist?"

"Thanks, Jack." Paul rolled his eyes. "The damned thing is I'm good at my job and usually enjoy most of it, just not dealing with the IOA."

"Like a whole load of Kinseys mixed in with a System Lord or two."

"Great that's solved my problem with sleeping tonight, I won't be."

"Well, you'll be happy to hear the good news that the Raider fleet ships are completed and launching this week for a quick shakedown. The crews and supplies are about ready for deployment and the last of the Cylons have signed on with the fleet. Turns out they've noticed how pissed off at the Colonials we are, and want to have a bit of fun themselves. All ships will be put under the commander of General Caldwell for the first mission until the crews are bloodied enough for someone to replace him."

"Temporary or substantive?"

"Substantive. His promotion was authorised by Jumper and myself last Saturday. He's taking over as head of the orbital and local defence forces once the Raider Fleet gets back. I've used members of the Odyssey and Daedalus crews to round out the newbies on the warships most on TDY to the other ships apart from the British gunship. They've used most of the Ajax crew on that thing."

"And the Odyssey?"

"Yeah, that's something I was dreading, Frank Callahan and Rodney McKay went over the entire thing before the Hannibal left orbit last week. Took Frank the entire time to write the report about the damage the ship had as well as what we can do about it, should have taken about three minutes in the end. Even McKay said as much and for once I agreed."

"That bad?"

"Yeah, total constructive loss." O'Neill handed over a tablet, the basic layout of the Daedalus class ship and the damage taken more than noticeable. "Hull's cracked in three dozen places, hyperdrive is busted, sublights dead, all but three missile hatches are fused shut while the entire railgun assemblies were ripped off or broken into parts. The shields would take a total overhaul and emitter replacement to get it working again. Plus the life support systems gave up the ghost a few hours before they got back, the entire crew was in space suits up until docking."

"So, we're scrapping her." Davis looked over the pad. "Guess the other ships won't be put behind schedule."

"The British are extremely happy about that. The supplies and yard space will be used it get another ship online quickly." Jack replied. "We're looking at the total removal of anything that can be used on other ships, strip out the busted stuff and recycle the hull if we can. The trinium is seriously needed by the shipyards, the IOA are gonna go nuts when they find out I've ordered a ship to be destroyed." Jack smirked, "Like they need a reason to get pissy at me."

"Didn't they and half the rest of the planet want the Odyssey rebuilt?"

"Yep and no, it won't."

"So it's cheaper to recycle the Odyssey than repair her?"

"About the same to repair as to build a Prometheus, even one with plasma cannons."

"It's a damn shame; she's barely two years in commission." Paul leaned back in his chair. "Damn shame."

"Yeah, it is." Jack followed suit thinking about the order he was about to put out about the Odyssey, the loss of another ship will have the IOA up in arms, Congress spitting nails about all that money down the drain and the public worried that we're losing ships at this point especially after the Wraith attack. The fact that the world had been told by the IOA that the ship would be rebuilt and put back into action without the ship having undergone inspection… he wished he hadn't agreed to the rebuild before the check had been done. "I'd keep her running if we had the resources but I can't afford for us to be misty eyed about one ship no matter how famous or how much she's done, we're in the middle of a war."

"Given we've only lost two warships in the last two years, we're in a better position than any other power out there."

"But some of those powers have ten times the ships we do." Jack sighed. "She's being scrapped within the month and the name given to a new ship once the first batch out of Wallamaloo is completed… that name has got to go."

"It will be, sooner or later Jack." Paul shook his head, the ships of the fleet especially the first flight had been through fight after fight, repair after repair. It was inevitable that one of the remaining ships would have ended up on the scrap heap in the end. Prometheus or Daedalus would have been his bet with the other ships too new or underused to be a problem. "We'd better have the Daedalus checked over as well as the Prometheus just in case."

Jack simply nodded at that, the loss of the Odyssey was a chink in the armour that they were trying to build around Earth. A single ship that had cost the US taxpayer as much as an entire supercarrier and more besides with the nuclear weapons aboard and the recent refits with plasma weapons. A bare two years in service was not a good return for the amount of resources used in constructing the carrier and it's maintenance.

The fleet was growing as they'd hoped with more than a dozen heavy ships and twice that in escorts already online. Most would be staying at Earth or travelling between mining outposts, colonies, Tollana and patrolling the local star systems. Five of the ships were already tapped for the Raider fleet and would be dispatched within the next few weeks, although they would be called back if necessary for any reason. The imminent return of the Daedalus and her returning passengers would give the fleet another ship to replace the Odyssey full time.

Once the fleet was dispatched the forces available to the defences would still outgun anything short of a dedicated invasion by the Wraith or a Jaffa rebel fleet; however the majority of those defences would still be concentrated on Earth or in orbit meaning that they would be fighting at a disadvantage even with the mobile forces they had. The IOA would spit nails at the news of the Odyssey being scrapped on the heels of the fleet being dispatched to the Colonial home system. Any more news like this and they would start pushing their noses back into fleet dispersion and right now that was the last thing that Homeworld Security needed.

He also knew that the Crucible and Homeworld Security would be where the buck stopped when the public got hold of the information about the Odyssey. All he could hope is that the majority of the populace would be more concerned about the five ships heading for the Colonies for their equivalent of the Battle of the Atlantic although this time with their ships not being blown out of the water by superior tactics and weaponry.

Paul would be the one forced into the position of telling the world the latest updates about the stricken warship and the outcome of its loss. The information about the Raiders would be given out to the public once it had already begun its attacks on Colonial shipping. Once again, O'Neill couldn't bring himself to envy the younger officer; he'd be getting the flak from all over when the IOA got hold of the reports from the shipyards.

"We can't really afford to lose any more ships like this," Jack said. "Stick the Daedalus and Prometheus on the list of attachment to planetary defence. The Daedalus will be deployed as fleet flagship until we have the time to get something bigger and nastier online."

"That should get the IOA off our backs if they hear that."

"Good for us." The king of snark shot back. "Forget going to the IOA about this one Paul. I'll head over there tomorrow and let them know."

"Are you sure Jack, the council aren't too find of you as it is. They might use this against you somehow. I'm less of a target than you are if they try to, all I can do is end up transferred if they somehow swing it. You could end up losing a lot more."

"Appreciate it but you still got congress, the fleet and the rest of the planet to tell."

"Can I swap with you?" Davis moaned wearily. "When?"

"End of the week, let the IOA know then Congress. It'll pretty much end up all over the new before we get to say anything. Hell half the fleet probably know already." Jack looked into the bottom of his empty glass before reaching for a refill, offering the same to Davis he sat back again. "To the Odyssey, not the first to go nor the last but she kicked the crap out of anything that got in the way."

"Amen."

Jack sipped his drink before settling the tumbler down. "We got one last problem for the Raider fleet. We need a good diplomat or politician on one of the ships for contact with the Cylon fleet… you know whenever that is."

"You better not be thinking of me taking that job."

"No not you, someone else, but I can't think of anyone."

"Actually Jack, I might have someone," Davis smirked back.

**_IOA Annex_**

**_White House_**

**_United States of America._**

"Are you crazy? I'm a diplomat not an astronaut."

"Take it easy, Mr Woolsey."

"You're asking me to leave Earth, travel thousands of light years, get involved in a conflict then contact a possibly hostile power that thinks nothing about destroying all humanity in the universe because of a temper tantrum?"

"It's not quite how it went with the Cylons, but yeah."

"General O'Neill, you've known me for some years now. What makes you think that I would have any interest let alone want to head out into space and get shot at by anyone that takes a dislike to what we do? You've angered and annoyed more than a few people and species out there that you've met. Now you're sending a fleet to attack one of those enemies and want me aboard."

"Pretty much."

"I'm a diplomat General; I have no shipboard training, no experience on long term off world travel at all," Woolsey complained. "I don't know if you remember General, but the last time I was offworld I was almost killed by indigenous mutated plant life that destroyed the Beta Site and almost killed me, the other IOA members and most of SG-1. What makes you think I would in any way be the right person let alone even want to go with this Raider fleet of yours?"

Richard Woolsey was halfway to incensed with the very idea that he was to be sent off on some adventure aboard a brand new ship as part of a brand new fleet fighting a brand new type of war, one that would be nothing like that of their naval counterparts of the last hundred plus years. His years with the NID then the White House, the IOA and now as part of Homeworld Command had seen him investigate countless oddities, talk with humans and aliens from across the galaxies and visit other worlds in order to keep open diplomatic channels.

Now, Home world Security were for some reason deciding to send unprepared and ill equipped civilians into battle zones where they would simply be in the way on the off chance that another race, one that may or may not be as hostile to the humans of Earth as they are the humans of the Cyrannus system would deign to listen to their requests or even be willing to make contact instead of trying to blow the hell out of the Earth ships. Woolsey had listened to the idea and while it had made some sense to him to have a diplomat aboard the flagship it was not a good idea to use someone like him.

His last trip through the gate to the Beta Site was supposed to have been a simple and quiet tour of an SGC based facility offworld for several of the IOA's top brass and for some time it had been. The problem was that while the base was safe enough it had not been ready for an infestation of vines and giant buds that had infiltrated the cracks and valleys in the cave network and brought the entire thing down on the staff of the secondary base. Only some fortunate timing and teamwork by the military personnel had saved their lives making up Woolsey's mind in that he had all but promised himself he would never go offworld again.

"You have several experienced diplomats both at Stargate Command and at Homeworld security. You even have access to the entire diplomatic corps of five countries that make up the IOA. Why use me, why not someone like your Doctor Jackson?"

"Daniel's busy with the Jaffa. They want more economic aid or something to make up for the fact we trashed hundreds of their ships when Garek tried to attack us. Then of course they want more naquada for the weapons and technology they sent us claiming that we short changed them. Teal'c's there with him."

"What about the others in the IOA? There must be someone that wants to go offworld like this."

"It's this, or we bring Weir back and you take over as the boss on Atlantis."

"Hell of a choice, General." Woolsey shuddered a little. If there was any place he would less like to have to visit than the Colonial System it was the Ancient city. It wasn't like he was afraid he was just not cut out to be an explorer or a fighter and it seemed that to travel to Atlantis he would have to be both besides an administrator and a diplomat. Sighing he knew he didn't have much choice, he was good at his job and both of them knew it.

"Woolsey, I'll be straight with you." Jack tapped his fingers on arm of the chair he had been offered, "At the beginning of all this you were working for the NID and that idiot Kinsey and I thought you were in it for him and yourself like the rest of those morons. Then Hammond told me about some of the stunts you pulled for us and our allies when you helped take down the NID and the Trust safe houses we found. I didn't like you or trust you even then but I respected the fact that you have your own ethics and looked at the big picture more than most. You've been a help more than a hindrance helping us with the IOA and their bag of tricks and so out of all the people that the HWS and SGC have I trust you now to do what's right when it comes to our contact with the Cylon race, if they decide they want to."

The diplomat stared at the soldier as his mind raced. The two men had clashed before over the years mainly when the NID had been making inroads against the SGC for one reason or another. He had had no idea that the late General Hammond would have brought O'Neill into his confidence about the disc that he had been given by the former SGC commander. Granted even after joining the IOA he had butted heads with the career soldier/pilot but had never been willing to betray his morals for a quick leg up into higher ranks.

Even when he had been against the majority of O'Neill's decisions over the years and had agreed with the IOA's decision to inform the American Congress about the fact that the SGC could have its funds cut and diverted to warship production, he had acknowledged the necessity of both the SGC and its companion programs. That ships could be diverted to bring back information, technology and resources from worlds that the Stargate network didn't connect to while exploring areas that a single SG team would have found impossible was the final nail in the coffin of the SGC's budget. That allowed more than ninety percent of its operating budget to head for the shipyards.

Enough money had been diverted per year since then to build two warships and crew them with the personnel no longer needed by the SGC. Well, that had been until the Colonials had made their appearance and someone had let out the news about the Stargate anyway pissing off the SGC, the Unites States and most of those in the know as it was. Overnight the budget for the SGC had been returned to what it had been and expansion of the off world facilities was ordered by the IOA countries immediately.

"I… I'm surprised, General. We've never been friends and very probably won't be but thank you I have tried to do the best I can for this country and world but I'm not trained and I doubt I'll be ready in time even if I went through the training now. I'm too old and too set in my ways to be of much use."

"To be honest Woolsey you're right you wouldn't be… so here's the deal we won't be putting you on any of those ships right off. We'll train you to survive on a Daedalus or Prometheus and once the first few missions are done with and the first contact team on the Hammond make…contact with the Cylons we'll wait for the signal and send you out to them on an Apollo," Jack countered. "Daniel wasn't ready to go out in the field when we started out, and most of the SGC wasn't ready for offworld travel when they arrived, but you've been offworld and you've seen what's out there. You'll be ready when we're finished with you."

"Do I have to pick up a weapon?"

"Only sidearms, standard procedure for anyone going offworld. Anything more than that and you'll have to go through the entire arms course and you don't need that."

Woolsey let out a breath. He had been a politician and a diplomat for several decades and was more than aware that he was probably being played and played well by someone whom he would have been wary about believing was capable of it. But on the other hand, O'Neill wasn't pulling any punches about it, telling him exactly what was needed and that the General trusted him enough to do what was necessary to talk to the Cylons.

"I'd like some time with the Cylon prisoners and any Colonial experts on their people as a whole if we can get them back from that prison planet you built them," he requested.

"Thought you might, once Captain Knight has whoever they have going on the trip, you'll get your chance at them."

"I really don't like this General, but I have never shirked my responsibilities or refused a job when it came my way. Must as I wish sometimes I had." The diplomat thought back to his NID missions and his unfortunate position assisting the very unlamented Robert Kinsey, just one of several mistakes in his life that he would much prefer that he could have undone. "I'll join the force once I'm trained, but if I don't make the grade you'll need to find someone else."

"I know but you might be surprised at what you can do."

**_Earth Defence Station Alexander_**

**_Formerly Colonial Battlestar Atlas_**

**_Earth Orbit_**

**_Two Days Later_**

The Alexander's docking ports and hanger bays were heaving with action as every transporter beam and ring assembly were in constant use. All across of the starboard side bay the five warships of the Raider fleet were undergoing final fitting out and supply awaiting their orders to deploy. Aligned in order the ships had been cropped from the independent forces of the United States, the British Commonwealth, the Republic of France and the Russian Federation for this attempt and a combined fleet action against the Cyrannus System.

Each ship was brand new and only somewhat tested on short range trips to mining facilities and system wide war games between the newer ships and the older more experienced vessels, barely broken in the crews had been decided upon and dispatched to their new ships within the last week. Some had been dispatched from the other already commissioned vessels in the fleet to give the rest a core of veteran personnel to round up the newer crew members, the Prometheus having been completely stripped of her crew and given over as a training vessel. Something that the fleet needed and would please the IOA as she would be kept in system at all times, the only remaining personnel being those in charge of the Asgard pulse weapon.

The Hammond had been joined by her sister ships, a bog standard Chinese Daedalus replacing the Russian ship originally slated for the fleet and a British Exeter Class Battlecruiser, a design based on the Daedalus excepting the far heavier gun batteries in place of the F-302 hanger bays. To the far end of the massive hanger bay two smaller Prometheus types sat alongside them, one French fighter carrier variant of the original design and a Canadian built version of the British designed Achilles Class which was to the Prometheus what the Exeter was to the Daedalus. Little more than a heavily modified gun platform in place of fighter cover, something that would come in useful against any heavy ships that might interrupt the fleet's sport.

Supplies and munitions were being shipped aboard from the Battlestation both from its own copious stores and from the ground depots of the IOA countries, enough weaponry to allow them to stay on station for several weeks and enough consumables for three months just in case. In this case unlike the join missions the American ships have been on the foodstuffs and potables were different on each ship, quartermasters had already requested more of certain types of rations and non ration edibles knowing that the other ships in the fleet would begin swapping their supplies within the first few weeks on active duty.

Railgun shells of all types and calibres were already aboard the vessels, beamed directly to the magazine where they were checked and installed into their cradles while spares were secured close by for quick replacement in battle. The plasma weapons were checked over and their hook ups to the main and secondary reactors throughout each ship before being secured and locked down. The new weapons were superior to the other weapons that had been installed on the other ships of the fleet with a higher yield and faster firing capacitors.

The mark six and seven Naquada enhanced nuclear weapons were still awaiting loading at a secure location on the planet's surface far below, modifications to existing weapons were as slow and as difficult as building the weapons from the ground up meaning that with every ship commissioned an entire war load had to be manufactured for shipboard use. Fortunately with the Nuclear powers of the world all onside with the IOA the missiles were mass produced and ready for use. The ships of the Raider Fleet would put in immense dent into the stockpile as they left, their launchers full and more sitting in specially modified weapons bunkers in the main hulls of each vessel.

"Wing Commander Mayall." The voice came from behind the British officer startling him slightly as he looked over his tablet, turning around he saw his superior and commander walking down the concourse.

He acknowledged the other man. "General Caldwell, congratulations on the promotion."

"Thank you, what's the state of the resupply?"

"Going steadily, we're at seventy seven percent of consumables, ninety percent of munitions excepting the nuclear missiles and almost fifty percent on crew. We should be ready to go ahead of time by about twenty or so hours, more if the missiles are ready for delivery on time. I'm afraid the heavy shells for the gunships are taking more time than we envisaged to be stacked away; fortunately the _Dubois _crew have been willing to get dug in to assist the other ships. Remarkable."

"Still a bit of friction there, Eddie?"

"Not as such. The British and French crews have been more than willing to work together on this. Seems their want to hit the Colonials has brushed over the dislike that the two groups would have had normally. In fact, several of the crew of the French ship have already taped out an area of their flight deck. I believe we're looking at a five a side tournament between combats."

"I'll never understand you people." Caldwell shook his head. "What about the 302s?"

"The entire wing is undergoing final maintenance at the Alpha Yards and McMurdo. They should be joining us shortly before the jump to hyperspace. One of the squadrons has been replaced by a Russian fighter screen, apparently to be attached to the Hammond as a gesture to the Russians due to the fact that we won't allow them to join the fleet."

"Great, that's all I need."

"Indeed." Mayall replied. "Fortunately the rest of the fleet is still in one piece although apparently there is some kerfuffle at Fleet HQ about the IOA trying to have the Achilles stay behind for one reason or another. I don't think the gents at the Crucible would agree to that."

"Got that right." Caldwell nodded. "We need every gun we can get out there if we get jumped by the Colonials."

"Well sir, you were there in the last fight. I gather you know how they fight and if they can even hurt us?"

"They can hurt us alright, their weapons can unseat our shield generators and the Apollo was killed by a ramming attack. Losing a destroyer for one of our cruisers is a price they'd pay." The General looked out of the concourse windows at his new command, the viewports could be closed down in case of attack but for the moment it allowed the foot traffic to look out at the ships of the Raider fleet as they began their gradual power up and final testing of their systems. "I'd prefer to be taking the Daedalus with me."

"I understand that Sir, but I believe I have something… ah here it is." Mayall brought up a memo on his tablet, "The Daedalus has been named as the new flagship of the fleet due to damage sustained by the Odyssey. It was decided than an intact and active ship needed to be recalled and kept as the fleet's main command vessel. A refit will begin immediately to allow the vessel to be used to co-ordinate large scale actions as befits the flagship."

Caldwell's eyebrows lifted slightly as he was offered the tablet. He studied the data as it scrolled down showing him the latest information downloaded from the main IOA secure servers aboard the space station which themselves were tied into the IOA and HWS servers through a tight beam hyperspace based communications system designed and refit by the Asgard during their time in the sol system. He hadn't been informed directly about the status change for his own ship even though it was currently still technically under his command even while he was assigned the Hammond for the raids on the Colonials.

Looking over the Hammond, he could make out the slightly larger lines of his flagship compared to the Daedalus and her sisters. The hatches that usually hid the missiles were missing with twin heavy doors in their place with another pair of identical ports underneath the bow of the ship. The double quartet of plasma cannon turrets were stowed pointing forward jutting out from the sides of the ship just enough to concentrate their fire forward of the ship. In all, she was a nasty piece of weaponry and just right for the war they were fighting.

As a full, all gun version on the aforementioned DSCs, the Hammond may have far more firepower compared to all but her British sister class, but she was still not his command. He knew every foible, every ding and dent in his ship be they from space debris, enemy fire or accidental impacts on them from other ships… the incident with the prototype Apollo notwithstanding. The Daedalus was as much a part of him as any of his own limbs and we would feel her loss just as strongly. He had been told that your first real command was like your best woman and you would remember it just as fondly.

Her loss would be damaging to the Earth forces especially considering her mystique as not only the first of her class but as a ship that seemed to be capable of surviving anything thrown at her when the newer versions of the class were being decommissioned or destroyed. But to him personally losing her to enemy action would be indescribable if he wasn't with her, but losing her to someone else while being transferred would be a raw wound.

"I thought you would have been told."

"No I hadn't, bastards."

"Isn't it good news then, sir?"

"No it's not, the damned IOA will have her rotting in orbit while the rest of the fleet are out fighting the Colonials and the Wraith. Being the 'Flagship' means that we fly the flag and shuttle politicians around the Galaxy keeping out of the fighting. It also means that they didn't tell me because they've decided that I'm not her Commander anymore."

"Have you been in touch with General O'Neill, sir?"

"Not for a while, why?"

"He's the one that issued the order. Both the Prometheus and Daedalus are to be kept in local space as the lead ships in the defence force that will protect Earth. There's not much more about said force at the moment except that it will encompass about a quarter of all assembled forces we have as well as the majority of the fighter squadrons not used on our warships." Mayall frowned. "I'm aware that you are attached to the Raiders for the short term, but shouldn't you already have been made aware of the disposition of your command before it became public knowledge."

"Yes, I damned well should have."

The newly minted Brigadier was livid. He knew that the promotion had been made substantive recently and would lead to his first full fleet command. But he had assumed that he would return to the Daedalus and lead other units from there once the Raider fleet were experienced enough to allow for the rotation of personnel back to the other Earth ships. Now it seemed that he was either leaving the Daedalus or he was going to be planet bound permanently after the raider's return, neither was something he particularly wanted.

Irritated, the senior officer strode down the hallway towards the Hammond, Mayall followed him close by curious as to the destination of his commanding officer. Without turning to the adjutant Caldwell demanded

"What time is it at the Crucible?"

"About eleven thirty AM, sir."

"And where's O'Neill?"

"Umm." Mayall tapped at his pad as they walked, "The General is… right ahead, sir."

Looking up, Caldwell saw Jack O'Neill slumped against the wall rubbing the bridge of his nose. The older man looked beyond exhausted as the approached. The look of the other man allowed Caldwell's anger to ebb slightly. Whatever O'Neill was up to these days looked like it was taking its toll. Steven guessed that even with people like Davis, Callahan and Carter assisting him that the man would be weighed down by the work that his rank entailed.

"General."

"General."

"Wing Commander."

"Sir." Mayall saluted before dropping the arm at the American General's nod. "If you will pardon me, sirs, I have work to get back to."

"Thank you, Wing Commander." Jack nodded as the other man took off back to his work, turning to Caldwell he gestured to the entrance tube between the two ships. "I guess you're a little pissed right now."

"What gave it away, sir?"

Walking through the ship the two men were silent, one trying to suppress his anger while the other was just too tired to care. A few moments later and they entered the ship commander's office located mid way between the bridge and the CO quarters on the same deck, slipping inside both men took seats, Jack consciously making sure he didn't take the 'big chair' behind the desk instead sitting on the far more uncomfortable guest chair in front of the desk.

"Alright," Jack began. "I know you're pissed about the Daedalus and I know that you are pissed at me for cutting those orders."

"Yes, sir."

"Stow the 'Sir', Stephen." Jack blinked at his own choice of words before continuing on. "With the loss of the Odyssey, the Daedalus is the most famous ship the public know about, the decision to decommission and scrap a 304 got me in the shit with a lot of people and to be honest I agree with some of them. We need a new flagship and one that the rest of the fleet can get behind. With the exception of the Prometheus she's the oldest and most decorated ship we have. With both prototype ships at full power with a decent refit each they will be seen as a symbol that we can and will defend Earth against anything that comes at us."

"We've stopped the Colonials, the Goa'uld, Wraith, pirates, smugglers and anything else that's come our way, General. We've more than proved we can take on the best the universe can throw at us and come out on top."

"Yeah, I know. But most of that is still classified under Top Secret. The public saw us fight but they also saw us fail to stop a handful of nukes from killing tens of millions of people, fail to stop the Wraith hives forcing the Asgard to kill the second one and now they've found out that the Odyssey's being scrapped and we're sending out five of our ships to hit the Colonials," Jack explained. "We needed a sign to say 'hey we know we need to protect this world and so we're keeping these two ass-kicking ships right here in case anyone tries to piss us off again."

"So what happens when the Raider fleet comes back?"

"You'll have a choice, Steven. One you keep command of the Hammond and the continue training our crews by attacking Colonial convoys and anything else you can find. The fleet will rotate ships in and out of that fleet with the Hammond and Achilles staying as command ships for the Raiders. Or, you can come back, hand over command of those ships to whoever is next in line, retake command of the Daedalus and command the local defence fleet staying in close range to Earth or you can retire and I really don't recommend that it's not as fun as it sounds."

_Hell of a choice_ Caldwell mused, take a new command and be in the thick of fighting teaching newbies how to fight a space war or keep his own ship and end up on a permanent flag flying operation at the back and call of the politicians. Neither was something he wanted to do if he could help it, especially losing the Daedalus.

"But the Daedalus will also be undergoing a refit before she's commissioned back into active service. Thor's agreed to install another Asgard cannon into her bow as well as improve the shields of both ships. We'll be installing a couple of plasma cannons as well. She'll be losing the bomb bay and a few missiles but we think it's worth the trade off."

"So both of the most powerful ships are being kept behind in case we're attacked by someone with a bug up their backside about us while less powerful ships are sent to attack someone we're at war with?" Caldwell was apoplectic at this. "What the hell are you thinking, Jack?"

"I'm thinking about the fact that right now the IOA are on my ass about just about everything. The Jaffa are trying to screw us on deals we made in good faith even after their people tried to wipe us out, Atlantis has screwed up AGAIN, the public are getting pissy about the fact we're still at war and haven't done anything since that raid which oh yeah KILLED TWO BILLION PEOPLE and the Asgard are about to go bye-bye and leave us looking after the protected planets, Earth, Lantea and their own sanctuary which they've decided to build on the far side of the sun. THAT is what I'm thinking." O'Neill had finally snapped. "I've slept six hours in the last thirty three, had to decommission a warship we sorely need, send out hundreds of men and women in a fleet that might not come back and the damned mess at the Crucible was out of Blue Jello."

O'Neill slumped back in his chair feeling far older than his fifty plus years. He hadn't meant to snap at the other man but with everything that had been on his mind for the last few weeks he was exhausted, stressed and was damned sure that he now knew what old George felt every time that he received one piece of bad news after another.

And he knew he had at least one ulcer growing on his stomach.

"Jack, you really need some time off." Caldwell's temper fizzled out as the exhausted and half defeated words of his commander.

"Yeah, tell me about it."

"How long since you went on a vacation?"

"Too damned long. My cabin in Minnesota was torched when someone who didn't like what we were doing found out it was mine. They poured oil and sewage into the pond and killed all the local plants. I sold the land to a company to renovate it." O'Neill grimaced. "My house in Washington was under permanent guard but I've not been back there in six months."

"Nowhere else you can go?"

"Nope, no family and all my friends are part of the SGC or offworld."

"Sorry Jack I didn't realise it was that bad."

"Never mind, you didn't know."

"You need to delegate more."

"I have, Paul Davis has more to do than me."

"I'd offer you a drink but I've not moved in here yet."

"I've had too much this week as it is," Jack replied. "I'm tempted to take one of these things out for a maiden voyage and get some sleep."

"Jack if you went out in this ship one of two things would happen…"

"Yeah. Yeah, I know… 'The O'Neill Curse."

"To be fair, sir, every ship you go aboard for any length of time ends up destroyed, shot up or lost in some way," Caldwell smirked. "Atlantis has one as well. 'The Sheppard Effect.' Anything he touches blows up or gets attacked."

"Nice to know I'm not alone," Jack snarked back., "So which one is it gonna be Steven? Raider Fleet Command or Home Fleet Command?"

"How long do I have to choose?"

"Until you get back from the Cyrannus System. It'll take a few weeks to refit the Daedalus anyway. Either way whichever you choose we'll put someone in the other post. Hell, I've got applicants from twenty countries on my desk for it." O'Neill sighed. "I'm not going to pressure you either way but sooner or later you'll have to make the decision. You've got six weeks on station to think about it."

"Alright, I'll try. Anything else?"

"Yeah, we'll be sending someone out to you to make contact with the Cylons."

"I thought that was why we interviewed the former POWs. Put a couple in the fleet in case we ran into them."

"Change of plan. You're taking the Cylons alright but we'll be sending a couple of Apollos out with one of our diplomats as well as replacement missiles for the other ships."

"Who are we getting?"

"Ambassador Richard Woolsey."

"Woolsey? Are you sure you haven't been drinking already?"

"Not my idea this time," Jack smirked. "This one I could solely pin on Paul Davis."

Caldwell hadn't had much to do with the former IOA member. He knew of the other man's reputation within the SGC and the fleet both the good and the bad but up until now had only had a few run ins with the politician. He couldn't disagree with the man's record but he was very unsure as to the suitability of a civilian being added to the crew especially one that was inexperienced with the intricacies of space travel and combat.

"We leave in a week Jack, and then if this works we'll be in and around the Cyrannus system for about a month. You think he'll be ready in that time?"

"In all honesty no I don't, but I've been surprised by civilians more than once over the years."

"Like Jackson?"

"Like Daniel, Jonas, Weir and her people, even McKay when he's not being unbearable."

"Never thought I'd hear that from you."

"Me neither." Jack pulled himself out of the chair. "Anyway I'm going home for once and sleeping for three days, Davis is in command down there and Ronson is commanding the fleet so if you need anything go through them first."

"I will."

"Good luck Steven, see you in a week." Jack nodded before leaving the room.

Alone, Caldwell slumped in his chair not particularly mollified by the conversation regarding his command status but more than humbled by the fact that he had far less to do and a far easier job than the command staff had. His position, be it as commander or one fleet or another, could be assured for the foreseeable future. Those of his commanders could be up in the air before he returned home for all he knew and that was something that they could do without.

**_College of Pontiffs_**

**_Caprica City_**

**_Caprica_**

"Those books have been deemed heresy and for a good reason Adar."

The Colonial President sat and waited for this latest tirade from the Pontifex Maximus to trail off. As he had expected, his trip to the College brought up her ire he had already been more than ready for whatever pious bullshit that she was going to spout off. Slouching slightly in the comfortable chair he watched Livia all but froth at the mouth at the fact the military had used the books of knowledge to discover the identity of the Asgard race. Given the fact that the books were proscribed according to most of the churches in the colonies notwithstanding the Intelligence division would use anything they had to gather what information was needed and screw the rules.

"I'm well aware that the church decided to ban those books."

"And you know why."

"No, I don't and I don't care."

"Well you should!" the woman snapped. "Those books are full of lies about the Lords and so-called friends and allies. Three races are mentioned in those books that are not human and do not obey the lords laws as they should, that is if they even exist. There are no writings of them in the Sacred Scrolls and nothing in the Holy Scriptures that even remotely claim there are non-human races out in space. Humanity is the Lords' greatest and more capable achievement. Why would they feel the need to allow for any other race to exist except for us? We have no proof of their existence as it is."

"Well, it appears that you and those who banned the books were wrong. Intelligence gathered from the probes we left behind and the survivors that were brought back by the Valkyrie suggest otherwise. At least three alien races have been confirmed as existing and are allied or enemies to the Tau'ri themselves, one of which is explicitly named as Commander Thor of the Asgard Fleet."

"Preposterous." she sneered. "It is simply a trap that you and your people are falling for."

"More than five thousand navy personnel, several thousand gigabytes of information from the probes, and records from the Valkyrie and Relentless point towards non-human assistance to the Earth. I don't give a damn whether or not you believe that these races don't exist, they do and we're in even bigger shit than we were."

"The lords will provide."

"Lot of good that's done to date."

"You are treading close to blasphemy, Adar." Livia's face looked as if she had been force-fed chilli powder in a lemon. "Be very wary."

"Right now Livia, I couldn't give a frak about your sensibilities. We need access to the full books of knowledge and not the cut down crap that the public can get hold of. Don't think we don't know you have had them kept even after banning them."

"We had them dest….."

"You had them locked away in a box thick and heavy enough to be Battlestar plate and buried in a hole in the caverns below the Sagittaron Cathedral of the Gods. Three keys are needed to open the locks and a permanent guard of twenty devout and pious men and women that dedicated themselves to the office of the Pontifex Maximus. Sound familiar?"

"How… you should… how the frak did you…." Livia went from shocked to angry to furious in the space of seconds."

"You would be surprised what else I know, Pontiff. The fact is that I know that you hold two keys through your dealings with the Sagittaron elite and their elected leaders. Putting yourself into position to accept two of the keys but unable to gather the support to get the third." Adar slipped a hand into his inside pocket before pulling a chain and key out of his pocket, "This one."

"You should not have that." She all but shouted before getting hold of herself. "That should not be in the hands of a non-believer."

"Right now Livia, I'm trying to find enough information to keep us from getting killed the next time the Tau'ri decides to attack us. We can't take another loss like Picon. Do you even understand just how much shit we're in right now."

"If you had done a better job suppressing the people of Earth we wouldn't have this trouble, those deaths here are on your head."

"Are you even sane woman? The Tau'ri all but annihilated the ships we sent before driving the rest back here. Their technology is beyond anything we have and with ever increasing numbers. Their allies are helping them stop anyone else from attacking them and if we aren't careful we'll end up in the crosshairs of creatures that make the Cylons look like kittens." Adar was almost beyond words at the stupidity of the Pontifex. "The real books of knowledge would allow us to find a way to contact and meet with the Asgard themselves and persuade them that we are the rightful heirs to the Lords. Once they have heard our side of the story we may end up finding a new ally to protect our worlds, possibly more."

"No, those books are not to be used under any circumstances. It is against the will of the Gods and the orders of the Lords."

"If it was against both then why were they written?"

"To test the wary and the loyal. That is why it is forbidden and those who follow the tenets laid down in the book are no longer welcome in the houses of praise," Livia replied. "They are second only to the diseased and evil people of the Earth and their beliefs in false gods and atheism."

"Come off it. More than a quarter of the entire colonies are atheists or believe in something else other than your view of the gods." Adar snorted. "And right now I have a hell of a lot more to worry about than the hurt feelings and wants of a few people. I want those books and if I have to go through you to do it I will. I have more than fifty billion people to keep alive and right now you as one person is in the way of all that and if I have to I'll have you removed and up on charges of conspiracy to help the Tau'ri and treason against the people and government of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol."

"That's ridiculous! There is no way that anyone would believe a word of those lies."

"Right now Livia, you are blocking a chance we have of ending this war before we lose another world to the Tau'ri. You also pushed for the invasion of the Earth only hours after meeting with the people from the Prometheus. Giving the blessing of the College for the attack and pushing the other orders to follow your lead, anyone would think that you wanted the fleet destroyed and the Colonies hobbled and why would the highest ranking pontiff in the most prevalent religion we have be so willing to betray all she hold dear by working with the enemy?" Adar smirked. "Of course the majority of people once they saw what the Earthers were capable of then they would stream to the temples en masse to pray to the gods. That would more than make up for the fact that the majority of the Earth is made up of monotheists that would have denied your religion."

Livia was fuming, this upstart of a politician was attempting to blackmail her into revealing the location and contents of one of the most dangerous and secret compilation of written material in the Colonial system. If those books were to be brought out in the open then the entire structure of their religion could collapse sending the worlds into anarchy. Was her position worth the risk of schisms across entire worlds as the temples fell on top of each other?

If the real truth of the Books of Knowledge were to become public knowledge then she and the rest of the College would risk arrest and execution by the law, something that more than one of her fellows were convinced they were above. That she was even considering the idea about allowing an atheist politician to see them pointed to her belief that she herself would come out of this intact one way or another even if she had to sacrifice other men and women of the cloth to do so. After all she was the most important member of the College in the eyes of the others.

"You would lie and deceive the faithful and the confused like this, make accusations against the innocent and pious simply to get your own way?" The Pontiff snarled. "You should hope that the gods will forgive you for this heresy against their chosen. This transparent attempt to save your office and to push the blame onto others will not be tolerated by the College Of Pontiffs, the office of the Pontifex Maximus, nor the faithful when you make the attempt."

"Right now Livia, I am more than willing to make the attempt if it'll keep more of our people alive. The Tau'ri have more forces than when they destroyed the Crusade fleet and WILL make another strike against us. We can't see them coming and we can't protect our worlds, our ships, our people or anything else if they decide to take out their anger on the Colonies. Intelligence gives us two years before the next major strike against us and by that time their ships will simply roll over every defence we have and annihilate our planets if they want to. If I have to throw you in prison and take the books from the cold dead bodies of the clergy than I will," Adar shot back. "We made a mistake when we pushed to attack Earth and right now the rest of us are trying to find a way out of this mess that you helped put us in, you will get out of the way and help us or I'll have you removed and tried."

"You wouldn't dare." Livia's voice shook as she realised the depths than this man would go to keep his position.

"Right now Pontifex I would simply have you 'go missing' and become a statistic. You aren't the first of your rank to disappear or end up found dead and you wouldn't be the last. Now I'm giving you one final warning, give me the books." Adar was not surprised at the reactions of the woman.

He was fighting for his political life as well as his literal one. As far as the colonies were concerned if the truths came out as he knew sooner or later they would then he himself would be shot for treason for his actions both here and now as well as before with the war against Earth, but if he was going down he would made sure others went with him.

"Those books will destroy the very foundation of the faiths of our people," Livia tried once more almost pleading. "If you allow the information to be made knowledge the scrolls will be ignored or desecrated by those that use the books for their own ends, the Books of Knowledge are and have always been the greatest danger to our people."

"The greatest danger to our people is extinction," Adar exclaimed virtually shouting. "What the frakking use is a bunch of old rules if we're wiped out by our enemies. The deaths of billions could have been stopped by the intelligence in those books. Every day they get stronger while we flail around trying anything to find anything to stop them and we can't. Our technology is useless, we have an enemy at our backs as well as the front and nothing you can say will stop me from taking what I need to save the colonies one way or another."

"Even if the knowledge destroys us instead? We could become just like those we fight against, traitors to our ways and the means that have stood us in good stead for tens of thousands of years both on Kobol and here as we grew in numbers and strength. You would destroy all that we are to defeat our enemies, what good is victory if we are no longer the people that we were? We'd lose either way."

Adar deflated slightly his anger burning out after his short tantrum. "I know that, we don't have a choice anymore."

"You were wrong," she whispered after a moment.

"What?"

"Your information was wrong." Livia pulled the first of the three keys from around her neck. "The Casket of the Forbidden isn't real, and the room and the vault are real as are the guards but there is nothing in it. The books are here at the College in the office of the Pontifex Maximus."

"What why?"

"Do you really think we'd risk the chance of someone like taking control of the temple and using the books without our knowledge or consent. People see what they want to see and believe what is easiest to believe? The faithful believe the original books were destroyed and those that are aware of the truth know that they are secreted away from prying eyes and have not been seen by a living creature in over two hundred years, truths that cannot be allowed to be revealed."

"Once this is over with I won't have to," Adar agreed. "The books will be returned to the College once we're done with them, you have my word."

"The word of a man who would have been arrested and executed means little, but it's all you have."

Adar followed the Pontifex's footsteps as she cut through the building heading for the very centre of the circular building, the core chambers dedicated to the contemplation, relaxation and residence for the Pontifex. The temple was the permanent home for more than a thousand people and could hold ten times that in worshippers, trainees, visitors, pilgrims or anyone else that wanted to find refuge. Livia's dwellings were far from the more spartan and dreary lodgings of the others living throughout the temples and colleges, comfortable and well lit more than a few cubits must have been used to decorate the rooms.

The main chambers were high and wide spread out larger than his own offices and homestead both on Caprica and the multitude of other houses he had across the colonies, mentally noting the opulence of the rooms Adar would have to do something about the display of wealth one way or another. Walking into a side room the religious leader pressed her hand to an old looking computer screen.

Nodding to his guard servicemen he walked into the room after her, the two men watching every movement that happened ready to follow orders already given to them if need be. As he watched a flush door well concealed appeared in the wall itself, the pre-Cylon war hand scanner reading her palm print and allowing her access to a smaller heavily reinforced alcove.

"Hand scanner, Livia? Guess your predecessors saw themselves above the law."

Unwilling to take the bait the woman slid open the door and moved inside gesturing for the president to follow her into the room. It was unlit, cold and dry in the room with a simple unadorned stone casket taking up one of the walls. Silently, the religious leader slid one key into box before uncovering the second one from inside her robes, turning both simultaneously she stepped back and held her hand out towards Adar.

"The third key, Richard." She said in a no-nonsense tone barely acknowledging it when the interloper handed over the last of the keys. A small flicker shot through her mind wondering if it was worth it to simply take the key and escape out of her quarters away from the despicable man and his lackeys outside making sure that they could never get hold of the books.

She knew she wouldn't make it ten feet before his guards shot her down.

Not allowing her feelings to show on her face Livia turned the last key and with a barely audible click the locks of the pedestal opened up allowing her to reveal the contents inside. Stepping away from the pedestal Livia put a small metal box on a standing table outside in the middle of the room walking in close Adar watched as she carefully removed packages wrapped in silk then linen before the final wrapping of a strange metallic fabric that was beyond his ability to recognise. With the last of the layers removed the first of the books came into view.

"What the frak are you trying to pull?" He snarled as he snatched the small 'thing' from her hand. The device looked half way between a piece of rock and a futuristic reader of some kind.

"Be wary Adar, what you hold in your hand is ancient beyond belief."

"It's a godsdamned toy."

"That toy contains what you wanted." Livia snarled back, "The books of knowledge are written in a language that predates anything we know of using a science we could never decipher. The one and only test we allowed identified it as more than two hundred thousand years old."

"That's older than humanity." Adar's eyebrows rose, "so they really are from the Lords."

"Possibly, we just don't know." Livia unwrapped the second of the four tablets, "Several hundred years ago Sagittaron launched their first lunar missions to their second moon of Debula, the first few found a few fragments of what looked to be forged metal but were forced to leave the moon and head home taking it with them. The metal was a high strength alloy that we couldn't even begin to understand, we still have it and even now it's stronger than Battlestar armour and far, far lighter."

She put down the second package and began to unwrap it while talking, "A decade later they stumbled on something on the far side of that moon, a crashed ship that was identical to the description of the Arks in the first verses of the Sacred Scrolls. Entire missions were launched that year from the planet to build a moon base allowing their scientists and historians to catalogue the wreck they found. Hundreds of tons of equipment and material was shipped down most of it unusable even for study but in what they believed was the Captain's Cabin were four blank tablets they couldn't identify in any way."

A third tablet came out of the box onto the table and was unwrapped piece by piece, "It took more than ten years to understand how to use the tablets, years more to be able to turn it on and read the information inside. The language inside took only a short time to understand. It was in very old versions of our own languages meaning we understood some but not all."

The last came out of the box this one in a slightly different colour of fabric and a very different metallic slip inside, "The oldest of them was written before humanity had evolved and the newest shortly before our ancestors left Kobol, the same age as the first series of the Sacred Scrolls was set down on paper by the Order of the Lords. Once the New Order was aware of the true contents of these tablets they were removed from the scientists and historians, several copies of the translated material was misplaced and reproduced again and again until we were unable to ignore them completely."

"So the Books of Knowledge out in the colonies are not just incomplete versions." Adar looked at the four tablets on the table.

"Not just incomplete but barely a scratch of the true contents of these things," Livia explained. "Once the Order had these they tried to destroy them as we had other materials that were sacrilegious to our beliefs but to no avail, from hammers to explosives nothing worked. The materials that they are made of are solid and heavy and almost impervious to the weapons we had at the time. We couldn't risk allowing anyone holds of them again so we buried them and in time those who knew the truth died and they become myths except to those few that still believed in them."

"And those that knew," Adar finished. "Why didn't you didn't try to destroy them again?"

She shook her head, "By that point we simply wrapped them up and locked them away so no-one knew where the books were. They are only checked on once per year before being sealed back up and ignored. The four of these have become far more temperamental since being retrieved from the vacuum of space, age and a continuing drain of power from them once a year would likely mean that they will cease to be of use within the next century."

Running a hand over the four tablets she looked up at Adar and for the first time willingly stepped aside to allow him to look at the Books of Knowledge, acting as if he was an equal and not beneath her as she had for the many years they had been acquaintances. "Richard, you are one of only a handful of people excepting myself and my predecessors who have seen the Books. They are highly dangerous even in the right hands, I implore you to only allow those who absolutely have to see the books to use them."

Adar looked at each of the dark coloured slabs in front of them, the combined history and intelligence of the things would be an incredible boon to their attempts to contact the Asgard as well as find technology that might well allow them to counter the forces that the Tau'ri would be able to use against them. All that they needed was time and that might well be something that they have little of, slowly he picked one up then another as he compared them.

"This one is different."

"That is the oldest of them, made of a different material to the others but has the first information on humanity after we evolved on Kobol. The exact same words as the Sacred Scrolls, life here began out there and these tablets have undeniable proof of how we came to be and that Kobol is and has always been the homeworld of humanity no matter what those heathens from Earth claim." Livia all but snarked the last few words. "The opening chapters are said to have been written by one of the Lords before our own race even began its slow climb from the seas."

"You haven't read them?" Adar asked.

She shook her head "Never, this is only the second time I've laid eyes on the tablets since they were entrusted to me by my predecessor. A cleric of The Order checks on them once a year and that's it. I told you that nobody should ever be allowed to read them and I meant it. It could destroy the faith and beliefs of even the strongest of the devout or send a man to madness and power lust. So understand that if we do not receive the tablets back we will find out where they are and if necessary we will kill anybody that is in the way no matter who they are and where they come from."

Adar shuddered internally at the sudden change in the demeanour of the Pontifex. She had returned to the spiteful and angry woman that he had been forced to face off against time and again during his time in office. Nodding he returned the oldest tablet to the table allowing the priest to continue wrapping them back up, one by one she returned them to the box and slipped the lid closed, muttering a prayer over the closed casket she stepped back and nodded.

"You have six months Adar, six months before we come looking for them." Livia stood up straight before adjusting her robes. "The books are worth more that you life or mine. You will return them on the appointed day and never speak of them to me or any other member of the Church ever again."

Adar merely nodded before grasping the handles of the box and walking out with the books guards in tow, knowing that anything he could get out of the books would be worth the damage he had caused between his government and the church. He knew now that he was unlikely to manage another term in office if Livia and her flunkies had anything to do with it. It was fortunate though he now had the proof he needed to take her down with him.

-One way or another.


	26. Book 2 Chapter Three

_**Chapter 3 (24)**_

_**Ragnar Anchorage**_  
_**Second Fleet Command Station**_  
_**Colonial Deep Space**_

Rear Admiral William Adama stared out at the constellation beyond the massive transparent window of his station bound office, unlike deep space the clusters were not the bright shining stars but that of solid metal and lit engines of the mass of ships under his control. The construction of the fleet ships was increasing on a weekly basis as more mothballed ships and resources were transferred to the shipyards at the Anchorage. Already more than sixty percent of the old ships colonies-wide had been refit and sent back out for equipping and manning.

Across the rest of the yards new type Two and Three Battlestars were in differing states, some barely skeletons while others were all but sealed up and ready of internal fittings while a small handful of the relatively small Guardian class ships were ready for launch with the next batch of refits. His own Valkyrie almost was finished with her own refit and ready for her next commander, something which angered Adama but he had understood considering his own promotion to command of the local defence forces.

The defences had grown immensely in the last year as more stations, satellites and defence posts had been assembled either within the Ragnar Anchorage or within the colonies and set their way. More fighters and raptors than he had ever seen before were now inside the massive hanger bays of the station or attached to the intact ships of the fleet. He had even ordered a number of the fighters back aboard the largest Battlestars of the refugee fleet somewhat alleviating the slowly growing disorder of the fleet. Pilots and ground crews were rotating slowly through those vessels giving at least some of them something to do.

However it was a temporary fix at best given the numbers of personnel on those ships. A few more had been transferred as necessary to construction or refits to bolster the station's own personnel roster for a while. He wasn't particularly afraid of what the Crusade Fleet's people would say given the bustling grapevine somewhere like Ragnar inevitably accrued. The station at large knew who the trust as did the defence fleet and the others that had been seconded.

Adama knew that they wouldn't be able to keep up the pretence of holding the fleet for much longer just as he knew from transmissions and data packets sent from some of the incoming supply ships that people were asking questions about their friends and family especially after all this time. Complaints and demands were getting more and more rife throughout the Colonies about the missing ships, the fact that no-one knows if who survived, how they survived or where they were had caused more than one riot. There was no way to stop the transmissions and rumours from running around the station and into the fleet. The necessity of using every man and woman he could to keep the place running as well as the supply drops to each of the 'Quarantined' fleet meant that any news that came would be inevitably shared throughout every ship and outpost in the area. Orders had been to keep as much news away from the Crusade Fleet as possible but even with a crackdown on contraband or scuttlebutt it was impossible to completely do so and for the moment Adama was in little enough humour to acknowledge those orders as it was, more so since he had been informed that the extension of their stay had been increased once more.

He had yet to inform the massed Colonial military and civilian personnel as to the decision of the Admiralty and quite obviously via demand by the higher up of the government to keep the isolated force quiet. He was hemming and hawing as much as he hated doing so simply because he knew what would happen the moment that truth came about. The removal of virtually all of the heavy weapons and Vipers from those ships looked as if it may well have been a blessing. More than one ship may well simply try to break out and head for home as it was. If more than one did they would be hard pressed to stop the escape considering the majority of the defences were arrayed across the entire facing edges of the single route they had in and out. Not only that, but if all of the still FTL capable warships and escorts broke free he was expecting more than one sympathetic vessel to head out with them

"The last wave of Battlestars and escorts are being brought through now Bill." Tigh spoke up from beside him. "Once the last ships are done we'll be fully turned over to new ship production instead of these frakking refits."

"Good, for all the use they'll be."

"You got that right." Tigh grumbled. He'd been pulled from the XO position of the Valkyrie the same time Adama had been transferred to head the defences of the station giving him the same basic position as his friend's second in command of the station. "Command just sent down orders for a full squadron of stealth Battlestars to be completed before we get to the bigger, Apis Class."

Adama closed his eyes and shook his head. The stealth Battlestars were rare due to their expense and even now he had only heard of one or two available at any given time. That the Admiralty and the quorum would cough up the funds for a half-dozen of them meant that they were planning something big and considering the Tau'ri never saw they probes that they had left behind he could easily imagine the plan.

"Contact the yards and have them cease construction on five Guardians and a Pacifica immediately. I'll talk to Kronus about the rest." Adama said distractedly, his attention almost completely on the incoming ships.

Slowly, a group of dots became larger as the incoming ships were finally visible to the two men as well as anyone else that may have been interested. A handful of Battlestars were surrounded by escorts and tugs pulling the disabled or derelict vessels into the station's perimeter under the guns of the defending fleet and weapons satellites. A small group of missile cruisers were pulling in under tow while destroyers and frigates were latched to the sides of a larger combat tug also there for a refit. However the last four ancient looking Battlestars hove to under their own power slowing down as they were approached by smaller tugs taking them to their berths.

"Holy…" Tigh looked out at the closing Battlestars as they dipped underneath the command hub towards the assembled yards below. "Those things are old."

"Four Columbias from the last days of the War were down for scrapping the same time as the Galactica would have been at the end of the year. All of them are getting the overhaul. The rest of the Columbia and Galactic class ships are as well; two of which are staying here as part of the defence fleet."

"More ships for the fleet?" Tigh asked. "We're already holding more than seventy ships close to Ragnar as it is. We can't keep more Battlestars here unless we begin using more construction space and supply lines for them."

"None of them are networked and the ships' commanders refuse to allow the full network refit."

"Sounds like another Commander I knew," The XO smirked. "At least they aren't the old Hercules."

"Those things were death traps the first time around. I'd have had them scrapped and melted down before I had them refit."

Adama nodded turning and walking back into the office, the finery of the Fleet Commander's quarters included his working office and a meeting room across the hallway for briefing his senior officers or other members of the station's senior staff. Each room was bigger than his quarters and office on the Valkyrie combined and in his opinion was far too big and luxurious for his own use, Tigh was also granted quarters almost as large to which he was already known to complain about.

"So that's it then, the last ships from the boneyards?"

"The ones we're getting, yes. The other remaining shipyards around Sagittaron and Caprica will be rebuilding the rest of them."

"We've thirty completed Battlestar bays and another nine under construction plus the hundred smaller yards for other vessels."

Tigh nodded, the bays had been expanded with the inclusion of a few dozen midsized tenders and mobile yards sent their way and integrated into the overall structure. Some other smaller yards had been left drifting alongside dedicated construction facilities to tend to or repair ships already built or in need or refit. In all they had the ability to build a full third again the heavy ships that were in service with the Colonial fleet and almost enough escorts to accompany them all.

"That puts us at half the yard space that Picon had."

"And close to that of the Scorpion yards." Adama sat down in his chair. "And most of those bays are for type twos and threes."

"Four Type One slips and two Warstar scale are most of those close to completion."

"Good, then we'll start with the new ships as soon as BuShips gets the blueprints to us," Adama replied.

"I doubt anything we can build will be of much use…." Tigh began.

He stopped abruptly as an alert rang through the station itself accompanied by a summons to the command centre for both admirals, as well as Tigh and the Kronus' own aide.

Grabbing his tunic Adama led the way as Tigh followed close behind him. The two marine guards permanently assigned to his person following behind, something that the lifelong military man both acknowledged and detested. Minutes later, the full command staff stood arrayed within the station's main control.

The reason for the summons was clear as a pair of destroyers pierced the veil around the gas giant and into the maelstrom of the anchorage proper. Behind them trundling slowly came the form of a hastily patched together, damaged remains of a Battlestar. The DRADIS system lit up as the three ships requested passage through the defence lines their IFF beacons blazing the bright green of Colonial warships.

"What the frak…?" Kronus whispered as the crippled vessel's identification came up on the screen. "Bill?"

"I see it Philip," Adama responded picking up the handset built into the terminal, "Communications open a channel to the escort commander."

"Aye, sir." A young crewman replied, "Major Franks on the phone, Vanguard Actual."

_"Vanguard this is Admiral Adama, what the hell is going on?"_

"This is Vanguard Actual Sir, reporting in as escort by Admiral Corman for the recently recovered Battlestar Pegasus. We request permission to relay the ship to your command for the immediate incarceration of ship and crew until such time that Admiral Cain and her staff are debriefed by the Admiralty."

"We have neither the space nor the personnel to keep a permanent guard on this station."

"I'm sorry Admiral but this comes from higher up. The Pegasus has to be kept intact and the crew healthy for the foreseeable future. Another ship will be dispatched for the command crew within the next few days."

"Understood, Adama out." Bill turned back to the communications chief.

She pre-empted his request by tapping at her console. "Open channel to the Pegasus Admiral."

"Pegasus Actual this is Adama."

_"This is Colonel Vine, executive officer of the Warrior speaking,"_ a female voice came over the phone. _"I'm the ship's temporary commander, sir."_

"Colonel." Adama began, "Shut down your engines and get ready for a tow."

_"Aye, sir. We're more or less ready as it is."_

Phillip looked up from a large console attached to the DRADIS system. "Colonel Vine this is Admiral Kronus, Ragnar Actual. We're putting you in a stable orbit close to the other ships of the Crusade fleet away from the traffic lanes. Expect a tender to reach you within the next three hours to inspect the external hull and deliver fresh supplies, at the same time any remaining Vipers, Raptors, heavy gun ammunition and nuclear weapons will be removed for your vessel for use by active ships. Is this understood?"

_"Aye, sir. One question however."_

"Go on."

_"Admiral Cain wishes for an immediate meeting with the Station's commander, what should I tell her?"_

"Tell her that…" Kronus looked at Adama who nodded once. "That we'll head over to the Pegasus with the tender. Three hours, Colonel."

_"I'll let her know, sir. Pegasus Out."_

"Is this a good idea, Bill?" Kronus asked as Adama hung up his phone.

"I don't know. Cain was always a bit of a wildcard but never an out and out maniac. If she took the Pegasus out then she had a damn good reason to," Adama mused. "Besides that the fact she's that desperate to talk to us then there's a reason for it."

"Sir," Rear Admiral Hart piped. "Standing orders are that any ships that survived the battle and return are to undergo strict quarantine procedures for a minimum of three months before any other military or civilian personnel are to board."

Kronus nodded. "I'm aware of that Admiral."

"Good, I'll have your shuttle readied for departure." She replied striding off, her commanding officer smirking behind her."

"Best XO I've had in years."

_**Battlestar Pegasus**_  
_**Mercury Class Battlestar**_

A Raptor dropped into the hanger bay buried into the side of the Pegasus. Heavy pressure doors slid shut followed by a second set closing around the Raptor itself. Makeshift construction and some ingenious repairs had turned the old water tanks into a pressurised container for the small number of Raptors that had been aboard before crippling damage had forced the Raptors' removal from the internal bay to an external one. Inside four officers sat uncomfortably in biological isolation suits awaiting permission to disembark from their craft. For the moment they would continue to follow orders regarding the Crusade ships but that would change soon enough. One by one they clambered out of Admiral Kronus' personal Raptor onto the deck where they were met by a typical clean cut and groomed officer.

"Admirals, welcome aboard. Colonel Tigh."

"Colonel Vine," Kronus replied. "Welcome to Ragnar."

"Thank you, sir. My crew are awaiting your word."

"Very well. You stand relieved of your command."

"Thank you, sir." Vine looked a little agitated. "Sir, we were informed that a minimum of three to six months would be necessary in quarantine before we would be allowed to leave Ragnar. We are all volunteers that knew that."

"I know Colonel," Kronus acknowledged. "How badly is she damaged?"

"Sir, the Pegasus is in no condition to keep the crew on board for a long period of time. The reactors are almost out of fuel, the life support is on its last legs and food supplies are minimal. We had to send across supplies from the Warrior and her group as it was. We'll need to either link up to a shipyard permanently or abandon the ship itself."

"We have tender awaiting orders to link up with the Pegasus. She'll keep the ship running for the time being. You'll stay in command until I give orders otherwise. Anyone that needs medical attention will be treated here or on one of the other ships."

"Aye, sir, thank you."

"Now," The senior admiral barked. "Someone point us towards Admiral Cain."

A few minutes later the small group found themselves outside the door to the Admiral's private quarters. Cain had been in situ and cut off from the rest of her crew for the day and a half it had taken for her ship to be checked over and manned with a temporary crew from the Warrior. The short range of the jump needed and the vastly reduced size of the Pegasus meant that a bare few hundred were needed to allow the Battlestar to head for the Anchorage while the Warrior herself headed for the Fleet Command Station at Caprica.

Two marines stood outside the hatch to the ship's Commander's quarters their badges showing their home ship as the heavy cruiser Diana, one of the ships that had been with the Warrior as she had found and forced the Pegasus to surrender.

"Sergeant."

"Sir!" The broad marine looked straight ahead, "Admiral Cain is in her quarters as demanded by the Code of Conduct for ships masters believed to be AWOL in times of war and I am required to assess your identification and orders before I can allow you through."

"Understood." Kronus handed over his identification and paperwork giving him access to every rooms, computer and file of every ship that came into his purview. It took a few seconds for the marine to authenticate with the marine commander on board the vessel. Once completed he handed back the paperwork and saluted the senior officer. "Sir, I relinquish the prisoner to your care."

"You are relieved, Sergeant."

"I stand relieved."

"Dismissed Sergeant and thank you."

"Sir." The Marine dropped his salute and stood aside as the Admirals and a Colonel entered the cabin before stomping off back to the barracks.

Inside the quarters Helena Cain looked up from her book and watched the four officers climb through the airtight hatch, she recognised two of them as Bill Adama and Saul Tigh from the Valkyrie and Phillip Kronus from her own history modules at the war college. The last was a young looking Rear Admiral that she had never met before. She guessed that wherever it was they had been taken that these four were the senior officers to debrief her.

"Admirals, Colonel." She nodded as she stood up. "Welcome aboard the Pegasus."

"Admiral Cain," Kronus nodded, "I assume you know why we're here?"

"Yes, sir, a debrief and explanation as to my location over the last year."

"Well?"

"To be frank, sir, I found myself unable to let the humiliation of the fleet go unchecked. It was my decision to take the remnants of Battlestar Group Six-Two back to Earth to cause enough damage to allow the fleet to escape and to avenge the ships we lost. We jumped back to each of the wrecked bases and then finally to within their solar system, simple as that."

"Well that explains something at least." Kronus nodded before looking directly at Cain, "A real time audio communication between Adar and one of the leaders of Earth was broadcast across the entire Colonial sector, and at one point they claimed that a second attack on their world attempted to destroy an entire continent. We thought that it was a trick to make us look bad for some reason, looks like we were wrong."

"They named the ship as the Pegasus Admiral." Bill Adama stared at the woman, "Informed us that at least one city was destroyed in the attack and that they would be hunting the ship that did so. Adar refused to believe him and told the Tau'ri that they had no right as an illegal government to demand anything. The communication all but told us that if they find you that they will execute you and the crews of any ships that were with you."

"They also mentioned that they had blown a hole straight through the attacking ship." Tigh nodded. "We saw the repairs."

"I did attack a second time. They had a large number of our ships intact and would have been able to get all kinds of intelligence on our people and homes if I had left them," Cain explained. "I changed my plan to include destroying as many ships as we could. The attack on Earth was a high speed run to find out as much information as we could in a flyby. We lost all but one other cruiser in that assault. I'm surprised even one missile got through."

"In retaliation to your attack Admiral, the Tau'ri detonated a heavy nuclear weapon in orbit of Caprica disabling tens of thousands of craft of all kinds. More than quarter of a million people died or were injured in the attack including members of the quorum and the military command structure that were on planet when the blast hit." Kronus frowned. "Depending on the timing, it might have been a second strike, an afterthought."

"Afterthought, sir?"

"When the Tau'ri bastards sent the anchorage into the surface of Picon. That was a strike to our heart. An EMP burst was just them having the right weapon at the right place at the right time." Kronus looked at Cain, "Admiral, due to the Tauri's transmission the entirety of the Colonial star systems know what you did and the casualties that came from the attack that you perpetrated on both sides of the equation. Right now you have millions of people who want your head on a pike for war crimes. Even more people want you shot for treason and cowardice including a hell of a lot of your fellow soldiers."

Kronus adjusted himself in his chair as a slight cramp started to affect his leg. He wasn't a young man anymore and any travel these days brought his aches and pains back to the forefront of his mind. How he was being forced to chastise an officer that might well have thought she was doing the right thing but the consequences of that action had had repercussions beyond the simple attack?

"You are very, very lucky however that the majority of the High Command, the politicos, and the religious heads for once agree that your attack was a good thing. Adar and Corman have been calling you a hero for the last year."

"Then, what about the seize order?"

"As I said, not everyone agrees. The order was given for your ship to be seized and the crew quarantined even beyond that of the Crusade Fleet. Whatever ship you were on will be on back to Caprica will inform the High Command of your whereabouts and the exact time you arrived. Expect for visitors within the next three days Admiral Cain, Corman and Adar will want you paraded around like a war hero."

"I need to talk to intelligence; I've got information that could change a lot of things in this war."

"Considering Corman's on his way here I doubt that would be a problem."

_**IOA Headquarters**_  
_**Geneva**_

O'Neill sat in the chair that he (or Davis) would usually be forced to use in front of the raised platform that usually held the entire heads of the IOA. Fortunately or unfortunately for him at least one of the ambassadors had been unable to make an appearance. The British man, while an out and out politician, had at least been willing to listen to both sides of the story before making his decision, even if it would cost him in the short run. However he was now stuck with two idiots out for themselves, and one other who see-sawed between one decision or another depending on which would suit them better, and one other who could see the reasons for everything O'Neill did and was usually on side of Homeworld Command.

Now the entire group had been informed as to the forced removal of a ship from the battle line through damage, their reactions had been predictable as they had ranted at the very idea of decommissioning one of their precious and still relatively rare heavy ships. He had explained several times that the Odyssey couldn't be repaired in good time with the damage it had taken as the cost in resources and manpower would be better set used to build another Prometheus or the majority of another Daedalus and would possibly take less time.

As usual, the majority hadn't listened and were all but ready to demand that the Odyssey be repaired and put back into service no matter the costs. Fortunately at least one of the IOA heads had understood the fact that O'Neill had the last word in regards to construction of warships and that informing them of this was merely a formality on his part.

Hughes was red faced in anger. "General are you listening?"

"Nothing you haven't already said, Chairman. The Odyssey can't and will not be repaired. The costs for a complete refit are beyond that of an entirely new ship and with control crystals and trinium being at a premium right now we have a bottleneck," O'Neill said once more. "Every spare part, piece of material and construction is going towards the new ships."

"And what about the spares that you told us were available to repair the Odyssey? Did our British contingent renege on our agreement?" LeClerc asked.

"No they still have the equipment and material ready." Jack shook his head. "It's a numbers game Councilman. The rest of the fleet under construction need the supplies right now for refit or completion, and we need those ships more than we need one single ship no matter how famous it is. Right now I'd strip the Constitution or the Victory if I thought it was protect this planet from the Colonials or the Wraith. The Odyssey would take more than a year to properly repair and that's manpower we can't afford."

"Then maybe we could do something else," the Chinese diplomat interrupted smoothly disrupting the argument. "General O'Neill, Councilman Hughes has either of you ever been to the Smithsonian Museums or the Space Centre at Kennedy?"

"Never had the chance Ambassador," O'Neill replied. "I've been to Disneyland though."

"Indeed, I am not surprised," Lo-Hcin smiled. "Both of those museums have both used and unused equipment dedicated to the memory of the space race, much like those in both China and Russia. I believe that the Shuttle Enterprise and a full-sized Saturn Five rocket are among those relics, am I correct?"

"What has this to do with anything?" Hughes interrupted.

"I am getting to that Councilman. In essence, the museums have been a good thing for the people of the United States as well as for others to simply see what has been and what could be. With the withdrawal of the shuttle fleet and the complete shutdown of the individual space agencies worldwide there will be little to interest the people." Lo-Hcin continued, "My belief is that the Odyssey does not need to be dismantled nor destroyed as General O'Neill believes. The ship should be grounded permanently at a ground station somewhere within one of our countries. All alien and advanced technology should be removed and what parts can be used elsewhere, once the salvage is complete then we can begin with the... exchange?"

"I think I understand," LeClerc acknowledged, a small grin appearing on his face. "Once the classified technology is removed from the Odyssey we replace some of the pieces with dummies and fakes. Make it look as if the ship was still fully armed and operational. A few repairs to the structure and cosmetic fixes to the outside hull and we have a museum piece for the ages."

"Correct," The Chinese man answered. "The ship could be added to a museum or attached to a new one dedicated to the exploits of the fleet and its people. The majority of the main hull ship wouldn't really make much difference in the long run, would it General?"

"Uhh?" Jack blinked. "We pretty much wrote off some of the main hull and the most damaged systems from the salvage operations, I could ask the shipyards how long it would take to refit the ship with dummies in place of the majority of the removed parts."

"Well then." Lo-Hcin smiled broadly. "We keep the Odyssey intact and allow the public at large to see just what we're doing with the donations and military budgets that the rest of the world have been pouring into the fleet.

"A tourist attraction?" Hughes questioned. "You are talking about allowing one of the most classified ships ever built to become a tourist attraction?"

"Yes, I am," confirmed Lo-Hcin. "It would give a needed morale boost to the people of this world, giving a boost to the image of those involved in their defence. The financial and public relations advantages will be impressive to say the least."

"Intriguing prospect, Councilman," LeClerc nodded sagely. "The public already knows what the Daedalus and her sisters look like externally. Simple cosmetic changes to the internal structure would be enough to remove any chances of people collecting intelligence either. Anything else can be sealed up in the interests of Planetary Security, the hanger bays can be set aside to expand into a museum, perhaps put a few decommissioned fighters or enemy weapons on display."

"This could set a dangerous precedent Councilman. While the Colonials won't be able to get anything out of this, other enemies might have the chance to. We already know agents belonging to several enemy nations as well as offworld threats have been attempting to find out as much information as they can about out weapons, methods and ships. Even the small amount that they could gather from a 'tour' of the Odyssey could be a serious security breach," O'Neill grimaced. "I'd have to talk to the shipyards to see if this is even possible logistically, and legally, the ship still belongs to the United States Air Force not Homeworld Command."

"If you agree to it, General then I doubt that anyone will complain about it. I mean after all you've been in command of the SCG, Homeworld Security and had a hand in the completion of the ship itself correct?"

"I'm not sure I do agree, but I'll inform the President, the Joint Chiefs and the rest of the naval command staff." Jack agreed to that much. "The Odyssey will probably have to stay in the United States. Maybe we'll put it at Kennedy instead?"

"If that if the best use of it then by all means." Lo-Hcin smiled back. "I do believe that it would be in the best interest of us all for this to happen, General. But I will not object if you do decide to have the ship scrapped permanently. As you said it may be a risk."

"Thank you, Councilman." Jack replied.

Now it was the Russian councilman's turn to speak. "Now that's over with, tell me General, while I have been reading through a number of Stargate Mission reports why haven't we as we have the chance to, simply remove the Colonials as an enemy, completely. Why exactly don't we use some of the more powerful weapons the SGC has uncovered or created?"

"I'm not sure what you mean, sir."

"I mean General O'Neill, that in the last decade that the SGC has been active that a number of weapons have been developed and in fact used by the eponymous SG1 both during your time as its commander and later as the head of Stargate Command. For example the Mark Nine warhead, I believe that you yourself have ordered the reduction in numbers that were ordered at first. Only a grand total of ten will be completed before construction ceases."

"The Mark Nine is a first strike planet killing weapon. The terms that the creation of that weapon is that they are to be used against an enemy that is a clear and present to the Earth and its possessions."

"And you don't think the Colonials are?" he exclaimed.

"At this point right now the Colonials are the least dangerous enemy that we risk facing in open battle. The Jaffa warlords, the Wraith and god-knows-who-else that wants to take a stab at us in the dark. The Colonials are weeks away even at a straight line jump and we'll see them long before they can see us. Any heavy weapons like the Mark Nine are for use against the true threats we're fighting."

"Perhaps General, but we could end their threat permanently and in one strike if we wanted to. A Mark Nine on each of their most powerful and prosperous worlds would end their threat for centuries if not longer, centuries in which we could simply park a few satellites in the area and watch them for here," the Russian replied. "It would be a quick and easy defeat of their forces in short order."

"We've caused the deaths of billions already Councillor…."

"An accident," he dismissed. "They deliberately sent large nuclear weapons in huge numbers to hit Earth, the damage was catastrophic. You do remember this General?"

"Yes, sir. I'm more than aware it all when the attack hit home and we were unable to do anything about it. I've been to all six of the impact zones and seen the damage caused," O'Neill shot back, knowing full well that none of the IOA had been to those sites more than once or twice as a publicity stunt. "You've seen that damage, now times that by a factor of fifty EACH and then you see what we're capable of."

"Right now we need to send a message General…"

"What message? That we're as bad as they make us out to be, willing to murder entire populations just to let them know we're pissed at them?" O'Neill snarled. "No, I have not and will not order the annihilation of an entire world's population just so you can have a sound bite on the ten o'clock news telling everyone that we've taken the fight to the enemy."

"I think that perhaps General O'Neill is correct," LeClerc piped up. "The French Republic would not support the use of such a weapon against the Colonials. It is a reprehensible creation for use against our foes so lightly. I do not doubt that we will have the necessity to use the weapon again but not against a race as backwards technologically as they."

"It'll end the war in a day, and we won't lose anyone else to these 'people'." Hughes replied.

"At what cost?" the Frenchman scowled back, "In less than thirty years the French people lost an entire generation to an enemy, we have never truly recovered from those losses. You wish to go further and destroy a percentage of an entire race and not just their soldiers. I do not and will not agree to the use of these kinds of weapons against the Colonies. The destruction of an enemy that cannot hurt us in such a way is disgusting and disturbing. I find it reprehensible that you speak of exterminating a people with the same compassion as you would when throwing out a piece of waste paper."

"It doesn't matter either way because the Mark Nines will not be used as long as I command the forces available to Earth and right now that will be for a long time. We have enough ships and conventional technology to take the fight to the Colonials at will with minimal losses, destroying their homes will just make them even more desperate than they are."

O'Neill shot at the Russian and American delegates. That was all he needed these days; both sides coming down on him for refusing the commit mass slaughter. The French and Chinese delegates were on his side and he knew the missing British man well enough that he would also refuse to allow the Mark Nines to be used.

Jack looked at the angry Russian and American components of the council with derision. If they had decided that they wanted the most powerful bombs ever devised by humankind then they had access to the other information, other ideas and plans that had been written up in case of attack by the Goa'uld or Wraith in large numbers. Some of which would cause even more damage than an assault using the Naquadria based weapons.

"The Colonials are a threat we could remove, General," the Russian snarled. "In one fell swoop without a problem, never allowing them to destroy another city the way they have before."

"We could never get them all and what do you think would happen once we destroyed their entire race?" The American General could snarl just as easily. "Just a few ships have to survive long enough to reach Earth and then jump into the surface of the planet. Do you know what the result of that would be Councilman? It would mean that they jump under the surface and disrupt the crust of the Earth causing incredible explosions as it merges with the rock."

"He is quite correct in this matter," Lo-Hcin said coming to O'Neill's defence. "I believe that I know of which he is talking about. A ship merging with the ground within my own capital city would destroy a vastly larger area than the bomb that hit Hong Kong. The larger the ship the worse it would be, would you see the west coast of the United States disappear into the sea as an act of revenge?"

"I… well… I…" Hughes deflated. "No, I wouldn't."

"Councilman, if one of those city killers had hit San Andreas instead of above Graceland then we would have lost the entirety of that area." O'Neill looked at the slowly paling Russian. "A Battlestar or something the same size appearing in the same area as say a mountain would have blown an entire range sky high and everything around if for hundreds of miles, two or three get through and we say bye-bye to the human race on Earth."

"No two atoms can occupy the same place at the same time," LeClerc whispered. "The cataclysm would be extensive, possibly global."

"That's why I won't allow it Gentlemen. We could win every battle but in wiping out their entire race we'd win the war but lose everything at the same time."

Hughes slumped slightly. "I know that you have worse weapons that that up your sleeve General, detonating their stars…"

"God, man, listen to you! Have you any idea just what can happen if we detonate a star in that proximity to others?" O'Neill exclaimed. "The damage won't be to one star but to the others in their system, four stars destroyed will end up causing havoc across the entire area. Yes it would destroy virtually everything the Colonials have maybe even get close to one hundred percent of the Colonial fleet, every ship ever built but what then? They only need one ship to survive and find its way here to be a threat."

The American officer calmed himself as he took in the IOA assembled in front of him, enough was enough. He wouldn't allow any of these genocidal weapons to be used on his watch. It was bad enough that his orders had led to more than one world being crippled over the years, he was more than willing to save Earth given the chance but he wouldn't wipe out an entire race if he could help it.

"We destroyed a star in an uninhabited system to destroy the largest fleet of Ha'Taks that we had seen to that date. The nova we created destroyed everything there was. The blast wave hit the other stars in the region a year or so ago, it damaged to stars enough that they will go nova in a few centuries instead of millions of years. We also destroyed the infrastructure of an emerging race in the system next door, it'll be decades before they rebuild and I hope to hell that we can find a way to help them after all this." Jack ceased his diatribe. "I am doing everything I can to keep Earth safe and right now we are in the best position we've ever been in. Every enemy we have is either gone or too far away to hurt us at this point. We're keeping most of our ships not on patrol or exploration at home and we are building defences strong enough to deflect almost any attack we can conceive. You wanted to send a message, sirs? Send a message to our people here at home. Make us better than the Colonials and make them believe it. We don't go around forcing people to believe what we do and we don't attack other worlds just because they seem to be less advanced and easy meat for our forces. Make sure the public of this world understand that because one day, we'll have to look back and see what we've done."

_Silence._

O'Neill looked each in the eye, "I have enough nightmares to face… I'm not sure I want any more."

_**Stargate Command**_  
_**NORAD**_  
_**United States**_

"Message from Atlantis, the Orion's engines have been modified and repaired and should be here within the next month or so," Sam Carter said walking into the General's office.

"Did the Hannibal arrive intact?"

"Yes, sir. She's currently in orbit of Lantea and beginning a full exploration of the system using our modified Vipers and Raptors as well as the Puddle Jumpers on board Atlantis itself. Apparently the battlestation managed to force dock with the Orion and help repair her," Harriman replied next to her. "Colonel Sheppard asked if they could have another one."

"Hmm." Landry stifled a laugh. "Tell the Colonel that we'll look at sending another one when we're able."

"Yes, sir." The Chief backed out and returned to his post picking up Siler and Mack on his way through.

"With luck we'll be able to use the Orion to move Motherlode closer to Earth orbit for mining," Sam Carter replied from behind. "She's big enough to move just about anything."

"Colonel Carter."

"Sir."

"Is this a good idea, Colonel? The Orion is needed in the Pegasus Galaxy more than here right now."

"Yes, sir. But right now it's the biggest single cache of Ancient technology outside of Atlantis that we have right now. Atlantis has a handful of specialists that can make the repairs needed maybe even study it but here we can take it apart and rebuild it, hundreds of scientists and engineers checking it over maybe even…"

"Colonel." Landry interrupted laughing. "COLONEL! We get it. The Hannibal should be able to protect them for a while until we can dispatch a battle group to defend them."

"Once we have the Orion settled we'll be transferring some of the technology and equipment to the Gamma Site. Hopefully they'll be able to incorporate some of the data into the new command cruiser they are designing." Carter looked more than happy at the fact. "McKay's people have already emptied most of the drone magazines of the Orion into Atlantis' launchers so they should be safe. They've also managed to retrieve a lot of information from the ship's library as well. We've already got a head start on the basics as well as the technical specifications that they've managed to uncover but it's not as much as we'd like."

"Is there anything left aboard?"

"Some, sir. Personal weapons, science equipment, a few more drones and the ship's secondary weapons systems." Carter nodded, "Rodney did ask if we would send back anything that might make it easier for them to rebuild Atlantis' own defence systems."

"Think we'll find anything?"

"I've got the data information that McKay and Zelenka got from both Atlantis' own database as well as the small amount they managed to get when the Atlantis team found the Aurora last year. It's not much to go on and as much as I hate to admit it we could really do with both of them back here to assist."

"Not going to happen, Colonel. They are needed where they are. You'll have access to anyone else you need but they have to stay where they are, besides I'm pretty sure that Dr Weir wouldn't let them go and they wouldn't leave Atlantis even if we asked them to."

"I understand that sir, but they knew more than anyone else about Ancient technology."

"Looks like we'll have our own experts sooner or later, with the resupply missions cancelled there won't be much help unless we get a ZPM or something."

"Whose idea was that? Cutting off Atlantis even with the Hannibal and its supplies will damage morale on the City."

"Jack's actually. He decided to cut off support until we can send a larger force that's why we sent the Hannibal. It's a better alternative than using manpower

"Well, sir with the opening of the other levels below the outpost and control room in Antarctica we'll have somewhere that should help us learn more about Ancient technology as well as a base of operations for the Orion when she appears. The ship itself will have to stay in orbit while we go over it with every tool we've got."

"Should be helpful."

"The Orion and the outpost combined will improve our knowledge of their tech base tenfold if not more. We'll need to use the Montgomery as a dockyard for her but she's big enough to take the strain we'll put her under."

"How far back will that put her?"

"With the extra scaffolding and docking points, about a month or so."

"I'll have to send that up to Jack. It's not my call."

"Understood, sir."

Landry frowned slightly. As one of the largest and by far the most powerful ship the SGC and her allies had ever found the Aurora class would be the lynchpin of the Earth's defences once she arrived. As much as she was needed back in the Pegasus Galaxy it was more than likely that once the Orion had been looked over, taken apart and rebuild with standard technology the Earth ships used then it would be kept in orbit at all times.

They had to prepare the IOA for the arrival of the Orion and inform the world at large that the massive battle platform was not an enemy ship but a friendly in their hands. Knowledge of the Alteran race and the fact that the human race as they knew themselves were the second version was still highly classified and hidden from the public at large. If the truth about the ancient race came out then governments, religious leaders and extremists would make trouble for the IOA, SGC and any of the other defence groups there were.

How they were to keep this to themselves once the Orion arrived was anyone's guess. Somehow they would need to not only admit that the gate network exists but that it, the Orion and half the technology used across the known universe all seemed to come from the same source. For now the world only knew about the humans and their offshoots across the galaxy plus a few allied aliens most of which had been celebrated as such, the court cases brought against the Asgard for 'probing' and 'abduction' notwithstanding.

"I'm not so sure it was a good idea to bring the Orion back here, Colonel."

"We need all the help we can get right now, sir."

"I know but how do we tell Atlantis and the race that found the Orion…"

"Taranians, sir."

"The Taranians that they won't be getting the ship back?"

"Why won't they, sir? The ship is only on loan to us." Carter replied.

"I doubt that the IOA, Homeworld Security or any of the chiefs of state or military commanders will even remotely allow that ship to leave our hands ever again deal or no deal." Landry shook his head. "I'm not sure I disagree."

"Sir?"

"We know more about the kind of technology that ship has than anyone else around, it's also a ship that could end the war in a single day if we use it right." Landry sat down. "Colonel if you had the chance to send a single ship to the Colonial sector knowing that nothing they could throw at you could hurt, even ramming a dozen mile long ships into the shields wouldn't stop you. Would you use it?"

"Yes, sir, I would." Carter replied without hesitation.

"So would I. It would save billions of lives on both side of the war and force the Colonials to admit that we don't need them and don't want them. We could cripple or disable every ship in their fleet using that ship and nothing short of a miracle would stop us, but then what?" Landry sighed. "If we can repair the Orion enough to do so then I'm going to make the recommendation."

"You know what the IOA will say."

"Yeah I know." Landry mimicked a high pitched politician voice, "A ship like that cannot and will not be risked in a foolish endeavour that could have the only known ancient warship of its type. The fleet will have to do with the ships that we've been paying good taxpayer's money for."

"It is the only one of its kind."

"I know, Colonel, but it's the best chance we have to end the war in a single shot, that's if we can get it working right."

"That's a big if, sir."

"Yeah, it is."

_**EDFS General George Hammond**_  
_**Daedalus Class Deep Space Carrier**_  
_**Earth Station Alexander**_

High above the Earth the first of Earth's refit battle stations drifted silently in space. For weeks it had been bustling with people and supplies, putting the final touches to the newly built ships heading for the combined defence fleet. Five ships had been completed and undergone an abbreviated shakedown cruise checking their systems both mundane and specialised. Two of them had been forced to dock and rebuild their internal sensor systems due to failures across the board but the others had only needed a few tweaks to be ready.

For a week or so, the last few touches had been finished and supplies were loaded as fuel and life support systems were topped up. Weapons loads had been put in place last of all with the missiles locked down and separated from the rest of the system by physical as well as electronic firewalls. The 302s had been landed the night before allowing the pilots and navigators to settle in as well as the ground crews. Most however had been assigned to warships before, meaning that they were already set for their new mission.

The Hammond was the last ship to break dock pulling away from the docking port slowly passing two other ships undergoing provisioning for a new mission themselves. The twin Prometheus class ships were the first to be assigned crews from Japan and Saudi Arabia. Both countries had funded and helped to construct most of the ships themselves giving the Earth forces a massive boost in men and material. Thousands more people from both countries were flocking to assist the war effort.

"General, all ships are responding. The fleet is ready to move out."

Brigadier General Steven Caldwell looked out the forward windows of the Hammond's command centre. The stars turning slightly as the warship moved into position at the head of the fleet, the other four ships arrayed behind them on the four main axes spread out like a cone. For months the crews had been training and preparing for their first fleet level assault against an enemy. While the Daedalus and the Odyssey had been up against the Wraith and the Prometheus, and with the Korolev and Ajax against the Colonials alongside them, the ships of the Raider fleet had never been in combat. Most of the Odyssey's remaining crew and most of the experienced military personnel from the Prometheus and Ajax had been scattered throughout the new ships but more than three quarters of those aboard the fleet were on their first deep space tour. This would be their trial by fire literally as he knew that the Colonials wouldn't simply stand by and watch as they destroyed the Colonies' commerce, something that may well come into their favour.

"Send to The Crucible, Raider fleet is in formation and ready to leave."

"Aye Sir." Marks responded sending the signal and awaiting the reply, one that came with a few seconds. "Response from General O'Neill Sir."

"And?"

"He says 'Good luck' and 'try not to scratch the paint.'"

"Confirm signal received." Caldwell ordered as he sat in his chair, "All ships to full speed."

Moments later the most powerful fleet ever assembled by the people of Earth leapt in space hurtling into the abyss, a moment later jumping into and through the wide open maw of a hyperspace window. At the speeds they were capable of it would take bare minutes for the five warships to make their way to the Colonial system. Caldwell watched the glowing blue tunnel of hyperspace as they hurtled towards the Cyrannus system at tens of thousands of times the speed of light

He thought pensively about the orders he had been given in regards to his mission. The raiders would take out targets of opportunity and if possible capital warships up to and including Battlestars. How he was to do so would be up to him. That had put him into somewhat of a better mood when he realised what he would be able to do when put up against the Colonials fleet. A frown appeared slightly before he smoothed out his face. The five ships would be more capable of taking out entire groups of enemy ships in moments without being seen, but what then?

The fleet hadn't been given permission to hit orbital, stationary or ground targets. Just hit the mobile ships and keep the enemy off kilter until they were ordered to return home for refit and personnel swap over. At that point he also would have more decisions to make.

"Hyperspace reversion in three seconds."

Caldwell blinked before standing up from his seat. The tunnel in front of him beginning to destabilise as the hyperspace engines began a controlled break down of the energy field. "Raise shields, arm weapons and scan as soon as we drop from hyperspace.

"Shields raised and tuned to Colonial DRADIS systems. We'll be all but invisible."

"Two."

"Weapons armed and operational, secondary power is nominal."

"One."

"Take us in."

With a flash the ships of the fleet emerged on the far edge of the Cyrannus system. The course had taken them to the opposite side of the sector to where they had begun. The Colonials would be expecting an attack from the closest side to their space and their defences would likely be arrayed accordingly. Intelligence gathered from the ships of the Crusade fleet had allowed for a very accurate jump from Earth for the fleet.

"Status."

"All ships accounted for, sir," Marks replied from his console. "Shields are up and modifications are running. They shouldn't be able to see us until we're right on top of them."

"Full scan of the area," Caldwell ordered.

"Scanning," a young woman on the other console replied, a young Belgian Lt straight from training. "We've got a Colonial convoy, sixty million miles out. Twenty super freighters, a very, very large tanker plus escort… two Heavy Cruisers, six smaller ships… and a single Battlestar, one of their smaller types."

"Good." Caldwell smirked. "Have our smaller ships maintain formation, Exeter and Sun-Tzu are to stay here and keep an eye out for reinforcements just in case."

"Yes, sir."

"Marks plot a course and land us directly in front of their convoy."

"Planning on making an entrance, sir?"

"I'm planning on making them shit themselves, Wing Commander."

The modified Daedalus broke formation with the Canadian Bonaventure and French Dubois holding alongside the larger ship. A micro-jump within the area was more than possible for the three advanced ships and as such, the Colonials got the fright of their lives when a small group of unknown ships flashed into view in front of them. The Hammond dropped her stealth completely so the cheap DRADIS systems on the civilian ships could see the small warship.

_**Battlestar Ares**_  
_**Guardian Class Battlestar**_  
_**Convoy SaG-778**_

"Oh no, not again!" Commander Adams blurted out as a very familiar and feared silhouette was picked up by his ship's DRADIS system.

The triple hulled ship looked much like a Battlestar that a quick glance could easily mistake the dark coloured painted ship for a Colonial vessel. For those who had been at the Battle for Earth or the destruction of the Picon Anchorage, it was a harbinger of doom and the creator of nightmares for millions of people.

The Ares had been one of the few ships to have come out intact from the Anchorage. She had been leaving the dockyards as the Tau'ri weapons hit forcing the Guardian Class ship to accelerate dangerously quickly through the collapsing frameworks that took several of her sister ships with it. They had been fortunate enough to have been in range of the Odyssey during the attack and had launched Vipers and armed Raptors against the ship.

A sole prisoner had been captured by the Ares and for the first few days that prisoner had been held in their brig well away from the other members of the crew. Even Adams himself had been tempted to walk down to the brig and give the pilot a beating but had refrained from the assault while making sure that the rest of the ship's company followed his orders to leave the young pilot alone.

He had been more than surprised to see a few of his ship's pilots actively forcing members of the deck crews away from the captured fighter, at gunpoint in one case. Their explanation had simply been that they would have wanted to be treated well if they had been captured at Earth. Each pilot had been removed from Battlestar duty and thrown to the far side of space along with the other officers and crew that had fallen from grace. He still regretted the loss of six good and well trained pilots but his report had ended up with them being transferred back to a planetside post for their own good.

Adams had agreed with that considering his own anger that the destruction of the Anchorage would only be evident in the minds of the majority of the people on his ship. Even those who didn't believe in the assault on Earth would be horrified at the results the Tau'ri ship had caused to the planet below. But blaming it on one man, the only one they had captured had simply been human nature causing more than one ruckus as crewmembers wanted to see the pilot responsible.

Now it seemed that the Tau'ri had decided to hit back.

"Condition One, launch alert Vipers!" Adams ordered. "And get a Raptor out to the closest Battlestar group and get us some help."

_"Condition One, Condition One,"_ the PA system echoed through the ship. _"All hands to battle stations."_

"Guns are active, and missiles systems are tracking enemy contact."

"Raptor is away."

"Vipers launching."

"Incoming message," the Comms officer spoke.

"Put it through to the phone."

"Sir, it's going out to all of our ships," He replied and then continued, "every one of us."

"Very well put it on the speaker." He picked up the handset. "This is Ares Actual, Commander James Adams speaking."

_"This is Brigadier General Steven Caldwell of the Earth Defence Force Ship General George Hammond. Commander Adams in a very short amount of time I am going to destroy every ship in this formation. However, I am willing to make an exception to this. Begin taking off every man and woman on those civilian vessels as well as from the warships and put them all on board whatever ship can handle every single one of them and we'll let them leave intact without any losses to your people."_

"You know that I'm ordered to defend this convoy with my escort group at any costs?"

_"Your rules of conduct put the lives of the people of the colonies above anything else."_ Caldwell had been informed long ago as to some of the more useful rules and regulations that would be helpful at this point. A few Colonials had been willing to try to help save lives even when the majority didn't care enough to stop the bloodshed. _"You can save these people and leave. I'm giving you that choice; otherwise I will destroy every ship including your own."_

"You would, wouldn't you?" It wasn't a question.

_"Yes,"_ was the simple answer.

"Give me a few minutes to figure something out. Actual Out."

Adams sighed slightly. He would lose his command for this but saving the crews of the civilian ships as well as the other warships would have to be enough.

"Sir, you can't be serious!" Colonel Harper, his exec asked out loud. "The second everyone is aboard that could kill us all."

"Colonel, if that man wanted us dead he would have destroyed our entire convoy before we knew he was there. We didn't see them until they wanted us to," Adams mussed with his hair thinking, "We get everyone off the civilian ships as fast as possible. If reinforcements show up the Tau'ri might just destroy the convoy before we could get a decent shot off."

"So we give up?"

"Colonel one of those ships and their fighters destroyed Picon Anchorage. Most of a fleet was destroyed by the resources of ONE planet. I won't have my ships destroyed just to sooth the ego of the Admiralty."

"Yes, sir."

The Colonel surrendered.

_**Warstar Titan**_  
_**Zeus Class Warstar (Mk 2)**_  
_**Colonial Third Fleet Flagship**_

Drifting in space between the planets the Colonial Third Fleet had been strung out as a tripwire between Sagittaron and Leonis. The Warstar Titan Hera, first and so far only of her kind as flagship, was co-ordinating the rotation of a number of ships close by. The Titan had been undergoing her final construction as the Crusade Fleet had attacked Earth in anticipation of becoming the first command ship of a Colonial Fleet dedicated to the protection and control of Earth and it's near space. She would be replaced by the older Titan – one of the ships of that fleet- on their return.

She had been undergoing the final fitting out as the remnants of that proud fleet had arrived back at the Cyrannus system at the Caprican Dockyard. The temporary crew found themselves tapped to stay aboard as the ship's official compliment once they had been informed that their Titan's predecessor hadn't made it back from the battle. The loss of the smaller ship's entire crew meant that the ship was short handed until they could be augmented by recalled personnel or newly graduated officers and crewmen. A year later, they were still understaffed and as a result had been forced to sit drifting as they controlled local space from a stationary position.

Six Battlestars and more than twenty other ships surrounded her as they took on fuel from tankers, supplies and personnel from colliers. All of them heading out from their most recent refit, the Warstar herself would simply wait for the next group to take their place and resupply. As such it was these ships that picked up the arrival of the Raptor as it flashed into existence in their midst pumping out a signal on Fleet Lines One and Two, the most heavily encrypted and coded transmission frequencies available to the Colonial warships.

_"This is Raptor One Nine Three Nine to all Colonial Forces. We have a Code Alpha Emergency."_ The voice in the transmission was harried and somewhat scared as he continued. _"Repeat this is a Code Alpha Emergency."_

Admiral Henry Fawn grabbed the handset from the command plotting table as the communications officer put it through directly. "This is Titan Actual, report."

_"Sir, Convoy seven-seven-eight to Sagittaron is under attack by Tau'ri forces. Three ships dropped out of FTL directly in front of us."_

"Frak." He turned to the other crew. "All ships Condition One. We have a confirmed Tau'ri attack on a convoy."

There wasn't even a pause as the command crew of the Titan jumped to battle stations sounding the alert. The entire fleet was at combat readiness within a minute of the message coming through. The fleet had drilled to within an inch of their lives for over a year for this contingency and now they would be able to show just what they were capable of. Minutes passed as the Warstar and its assembled ships broke of their resupply operations, most of the auxiliaries pulling into their own formation under the protective umbrella of Viper squadrons and a trio of cruisers being left behind.

"Sir, all ships have broken off resupply and are forming up around us, Raptors have been dispatched to other Battlestar groups to meet us at the Ares' co-ordinates as soon as possible," Colonel Price informed the Admiral.

"Once we're in formation jump us to the Ares." Admiral Fawn nodded. "I am authorising use of nuclear weapons as soon as we have target acquisition, load all tubes and ready main guns."

"Ships in formation, all reporting ready."

"Start the clock, ten seconds."

"Clock started." They waited as the time ticked down. "Jumping in three, two, one..."

***

It didn't surprise Caldwell as a second group of ships jumped into the area only a scant twenty minutes after they had hyperspaced in. Commander Adams had been as good as his word and had begun shuttling the crews of the civilian and fleet auxiliary ships under his care. Several of the container ships were empty and drifting unpowered while the others had Raptors from the cruisers streaming back and forth from their ships. Two of the destroyers had been allowed to dock with the others to take their crews off before heading for the Battlestar.

It was amazing what a threat of complete and overwhelming firepower had could do.

Once the first freighter had been emptied of its crew the Hammond had moved position and shown just what they could do as the heavy railguns and plasma cannons fired an alpha strike into the hull of the massive ship. At almost two miles long the freighter was larger than any warship in the Colonial Fleet but far less well armoured. The hull shattered as the fire from the Daedalus variant hammered into the underside cutting through massive ship annihilating the middle fifth of the ship sending the rest spinning slowly through space. A few minutes later every shuttle and Raptor in the fleet had scrambled to recover the crews of the convoy vessels pushing their engines to the limit.

Once it was confirmed that a ship was empty one of the three Tau'ri warships would smash the empty merchantmen into fragments. The French cruiser launched a single modified warhead into the front of one of the midsized craft allowing the focussed nuclear blast to annihilate the freighter's internals before exploding outwards vaporising the majority of the hull leaving a few dozen meters of the aft intact.

In all six ships had been emptied and destroyed before the massive Warstar group jumped into the area directly behind the Hammond and her escorts. The three ships were close enough to see the barrels of the larger ships pointing directly at them, several seeming large enough to fly a Tel'Tac into. The Tau'ri sat between the two groups of ships waiting for the first shot.

It didn't take long.

_**EDFS General Hammond**_

"General the Colonial ships are locking one, reading missiles and cannons locking on."

"Viper and Raptor Squadrons launching from all sides. The Ares is moving to cover her escorts and the freighters."

"Are they still unloading the crews?"

"Yes, sir."

"Ignore them," Caldwell replied. "Lock plasma cannons on the closest capital ship, main railguns to the cruisers. Ignore the destroyers."

The Hammond banked across the flank of the closest Battlestar sending the incoming Vipers scurrying out of the way, several slamming against the shields of the modified warship, immolating themselves. The two Prometheus class ships keeping up with the other turning their attention to the other side of the formation, point defence guns and plasma cannons hammering into the closest escorts piercing through thick armour and exposing the internals to the vacuum of space.

Coming in close to the Battlestar the Hammond focussed its fire on the underside, Lucifer rounds and plasma fire burning through the heavily armoured underside of the Mercury class ship. Armour slagged and cooled as the high temperature weapons sliced deep into the inner decks vaporising crew and instruments both. Flares of energy ripped through the ship blowing airtight doors out of their sockets or melting through thick armour plating. Hundreds of crewmen died within the first few seconds over a thousand more as the hull breached through bulges and cracks that appeared across the flanks of the Battlestar.

Power died throughout the vessel, its main reactors damaged beyond repair they simply scrammed causing the weapons and defences of the massive Colonial vessel to shut down. Engines and thrusters died with life support now operating on battery power. The Hammond simply twisted around the darkening hull seeking a new target.

The twin Prometheus class ships bracketed the huge Warstar both hitting the upper hull vaporising the upper works, scouring the hull clean of weapons and DRADIS arrays, sending pulses of energy and heat into the main body igniting the atmosphere and burning the crew to cinders. A handful of heavy calibre rounds impacted on the rear facing shields of both vessels as they pulled away from the burning vessel.

"One target Battlestar disabled, the Warstar is burning but still operational."

"They've improved the armour."

"Yes, sir. The Lucifer rounds and plasma fire is burning straight through but losing a lot of energy in the process," Marks said. "We're reading massive launches of enemy fighters, thousands of them."

"Shift point defence guns to fighter suppression, load main railguns with nuclear ordnance and plasma cannons to standby," Caldwell ordered. "Hail the Warstar."

"No response Sir, the other ships might have knocked their comms out," Lt Smith replied from behind him. "Should I try one of the other ships?"

"Do it." Caldwell watched the vista outside as his ship lanced a light cruiser with plasma fire followed up by as nuke into its guts.

"Also no response, sir."

"Battlestars are trying to englobe us... we're registering missile locks."

"Activate ECM, kill the running lights."

On every ship in the Colonial fleet the largest of the three vessels disappeared from their screens, one moment it was there the next gone. Across the entire force Battlestars began increasing power to their DRADIS scans while ordering Viper and Raptor Squadrons to pick up visual scanning, thousands of eyes scanned the stars aboard warship and small craft alike straining to find the fast and agile Tau'ri warship.

The dark grey of the Hammond's exterior meant that with no running lights and a vastly reduced cross section, thanks to the modified ECM courtesy of reverse engineering of the Colonial DRADIS systems, that the Battlestars and escorts were blind to the movements of the Daedalus class ship. Moments later, the other two ships followed suit becoming invisible to the enemy.

"Let's make this more interesting," Caldwell smirked evilly. "Call in the other ships."

"Aye, sir." Marks' smirk was just as nasty.

Several million miles from the battle scene the remainder of the raider force had been watching the crippling of several ships while the rest attempted to close the range if possible. The far more nimble Daedalus and Prometheus class ships were running rings around the Colonial ships barely slowing to pour concentrated fire into the underside or spines of the larger ships. Turning a loop against the bulk of the crippled Warstar the Hammond blew through the armoured hull of the massive ship cutting deep into the armoured head causing secondary explosions to ripple through the internal bulkheads.

_**EDFS Exeter**_  
_**Exeter Class Heavy Cruiser**_

"That's the signal, sir. General Caldwell has ordered us in."

"About bloody time," Commodore Hoskins snorted. "Put me through to the Sunny."

"Channel open sir."

"Colonel Chin this is Hoskins."

"We read you Colonel, we are ready."

"Good, follow us in and cover us. If anything gets close then hit them."

_"Understood, good hunting and make them bleed."_

"That's the plan old boy. Exeter Out."

Two ships, one a heavily upgunned version of the other accelerated from a dead stop. Their shields and ECM already raised in case of attack meant that the ships at the rear of the Colonial formation didn't even see them coming. Leading the way the Exeter salvo fired her main cannons punching through the engines of a smaller Type Three Battlestar. The British had concentrated primarily on improving the numbers and size of their weapons systems, the missile batteries had been removed and a quarter of large railguns installed in their place.

Eight potassium/naquada enhanced railgun rounds punched through the engines detonating as they passed through the ion wash. The emission bells and internal parts simply turned to scrap causing the Battlestar to veer off course with only half of their engines functional. The small capital ship slicing through an escorting destroyer that had pulled in close to add it's defensive fire. The starboard side of the Battlestar crumpled up as it passed through before being rocked by the pieces colliding with the main hull.

A moment later, the plasma cannons and secondary railgun armament hammered into the same area removing the last of the engines before hammering into the main engineering decks exposing them to space and vaporising the personnel inside. As the Tau'ri heavy cruiser moved past the stricken ship it pulled to the side taking fire from a few escorts close enough to see them, allowing her sister ship to blow through launching Lucifer rounds into the side of a cruiser before launching a trio of missiles at close to point blank, one of which impacted a damaged viper annihilating both while the others slammed into the side of the cruiser immolating it.

Passing through the debris of their targets the two ships found themselves in a crossfire of a dozen ships. Heavy rounds were thrown through the void impacting on all sides. The Sun-Tzu banked away while the Exeter took its own course splitting the fire between two targets. A trio of massive nukes exploded on the belly of the Exeter as it closed with another Battlestar flying through the explosions before firing into the hull of the Mercury class ship.

"This is taking too long," Hoskins said to himself. "Open a channel to the Sun-Tzu."

"Open."

"Colonel Chin, this is taking us far too long."

_"Agreed, my ship is unable to cause sufficient damage to several of their larger ships."_

"We saw. The Hammond signalled us regarding a new armour the Colonials must have. Its stopping some of our fire before it can penetrate enough. Only a few seem to have it though."

_"Some form of high temperature ablative armour I would gather,"_ Chin answered. _"What is your plan?"_

"We'll head in and blow a hole in their defences with our main guns. You follow us in and throw a missile or two in the hole."

_"Indeed, we will be ready."_

_**Warstar Titan**_

Fawn awoke to find himself in total darkness.

He turned himself over on the floor in a vain attempt to get up. Slipping slightly he collapsed on the floor again trying with difficulty to open his eyes, through barely opened slits he saw nothing but darkness, whether or not it was due to a head injury or the power being off he didn't know. Almost unable to move due to the pain in his chest and back, he almost slipped again barely catching himself before colliding with the floor.

"Report," he croaked before coughing loudly. "Report."

"A…Admiral."

"Identify yourself."

"I'm… Ensign Simms, Carolyn Simms, sir."

"Simms… secondary engineering station."

"Yes, sir. That's me."

"I can't see Ensign, can you give me a report?"

"Negative, sir. I can't see either. I think main power is out and the secondaries cut somehow." Simms sobbed slightly. "They must have cut the trunking… I'm trying to get into my emergency supply bin. It won't open, it won't frakking open."

Sensing the breakdown by the young officer, Fawn did his best to struggle upright into a sitting position. And even though she couldn't see him it would give him the chance to project a little more steel into his voice even as he tried to calm her down.

"Ensign, calm down," he said softly. "Move your hands away from the panel. Have you done that?"

"Yes, sir." Her voice hitched as the ship rang from another hit, whether from debris or an impact from Tau'ri fire they didn't know.

"Good. Now lay your hands on the console in front of you," Fawn instructed. "Close your eyes and breathe deeply. Alright now move your fingers as if you were working on your console on a normal duty shift."

As she did he heard her breaths slow and steady alongside the steady tapping of the keys of her keyboard. Steadily after a minute or so her panic began to ebb and wane allowing her to think clearly again. Under orders she took her hands from the board and she slipped them down to the emergency supply cache under her console. With a few quick movements it opened up dropping a small bag into her hands.

"Good, now open that bag and find a torch or light stick."

"I think I've got it." She ripped open a packet and cracked the tube inside, a light spread between her hands as the light stick began to emit enough for them to see the area around them. "Sir, are you alright?"

"As well as can be expected, Ensign. I think I've broken something in my back and my ribs." Fawn grimaced in pain. "I can't get to the emergency locker underneath the DRADIS table."

"I'll get it."

"At ease, Ensign. How badly are you injured?"

"I don't really know, sir. I'm bleeding from my head and arm but that's it and I can't even feel that," said Simms. "I may be in shock."

"More than likely, Ensign. Is there anyone else alive up there?"

"I… I'm not sure. I can see more than half are dead from here, sir. The rest I don't know."

Fawn grimaced again as he realise that more than twenty of the Warstar's massive CIC staff were probably dead with others injured or close to death. That he and the ensign had survived was nothing short of a miracle. He moved with a start as a hand grasped his gently. Looking up, he focussed on the face of a young woman with short raven hair. Dried blood stuck to her face standing out in contrast to the harsh light of the mobile lantern grabbed from one of the larger emergency kits.

"Sir, can you hear me?"

"Simms?"

"Thank the lords! When you stopped responding I thought…"

"I must have blacked out. What's happened?"

"I don't know, sir. The communications lines are down with the power but I can still feel the defence guns firing so we're still in the battle." She pushed a small syringe into his leg pumping a powerful painkiller into his body, several of the lanterns and light sticks were scattered around the pitch black CIC sending dark shadows over bodies of those alive and dead. "I checked everyone. Seven are still alive, the rest are gone."

"Any sign of the survivor waking up?"

"Not yet, sir," she replied. Her confidence was building or at least her fear was well hidden as she dropped back into a professional veneer, "I checked over half of the crew. I doubt that there'll be many more though considering the damage we've taken."

"How bad?"

"Two of the hatches are warped shut, the main hatch is blocked with debris and two of the main structural members have severed and dropped."

Simms pulled out another couple of syringes and a medical kit, followed by a water bottle, a ration pack and a blanket. She handed him the water bottle as the damage sunk into his fatigue and pain filled mind."

"Frak."

"Exactly what I said, sir." The Ensign dropped the blanket over the prone man tucking it under his legs gently. "Just need to keep you warm.

"Alright, I want you to break open the gun locker to the side of the main hatchway and arm yourself just in case. Head to sickbay or the secondary command centre and tell them what's happened here." He pulled his tags from around his neck groaning as his gradually numbing back protested against the movement. He dropped them into her hand. "Show this to whoever is in charge and tell them I'm here with other injured. Now go and hurry."

"Sir, are you sure about this?" She asked. "No one else is awake…"

"Someone has to and right now you're the only one we have that can make it. I'm making this an order Ensign."

"Yes, sir. I'll be back as soon as I can."

_**EDFS General George Hammond**_

Outside, the battle had taken a life of its own. The remains of the convoy that the Hammond and her escorts had allowed to get away watched the battle in consternation and fear. They watched silently as the Hammond or one of the Prometheus class ships would simply break off from the battle and destroy one of the massive freighters with impunity. Occasionally, a destroyer or cruiser would try to intercept the Tau'ri warships only to find themselves blown into pieces as the comparatively small warships shattered their spines with railgun and plasma fire or got close enough for a Naquada enhanced nuclear weapon to annihilate a good portion of their structure.

One by one, the Colonial ships fell to the Tau'ri, forcing the remaining ships to huddle closer to their brethren in an attempt to use pure heavy firepower to force the Earth built ships away. Fortunately the interruption by the Warstar and her group allowed the convoy and her escorts to escape into FTL allowing the five vessels to turn their attentions fully to the Colonial warships.

As expected, the raider fleet adapted themselves to the numbers and difficulties of wiping out the other side. With the convoy escaping into FTL four of the ships formed up side by side with the heavier gunships of the group forging ahead opening up gaps in the defensive perimeter for the others to use their heavy nukes against the enemy. Four Battlestars went up in as many minutes while another three escorts went with them, Vipers and Raptors continued to try and cut off the jinking Tau'ri craft with cannon fire, missiles and light nukes but to no avail as several of each were run down. Those fighters simply vaporised as they hit the energy fields protecting the cruisers.

***

Someone shouted from behind Caldwell

"FTL event. Another Colonial battle group."

"Numbers."

"Six Battlestars and forty other ships."

"Alright enough is enough. All ships break off and jump to Point Baker," the General ordered. "We need to rethink this."

The comms officer could be heard in the background. "All ships, this is the Hammond. "Break off attack, repeat break off attack. Assemble at Point Baker."

"Sir, we're pulling clear of the Colonial fleet," Marks replied. "Hyperdrive is ready."

"Colonial destroyer is trying to cut us off."

"Idiots, ignore them, Caldwell ordered. "We've done enough today. Major get us out of here."

The Colonial ships that were still intact were dodging as best they could with several attempting to break away from the fast moving Earth ships. Two Battlestars found their oncoming deaths negated as the smaller vessels simply turned and raced away from their targets. Across the entire remnants of the fleet they watched as the five Tau'ri vessels jumped using their own version of FTL leaving debris of crippled ships and the hulks of the dead behind.

One by one, the fleet stopped firing at the spaces the enemy ships had been flying through before they had jumped away. Radio signals from Vipers, Raptors and escorts informed the crippled fleet as well as the incoming Battlestar group that the five ships had left the area.

"They've gone… did we win?" an ensign asked on the secondary command centre aboard the Warstar.

Silence now reigned throughout the ship. Colonial weapons or at least that what was left were now silent. There were no more impacts from solid cannon shells and the screech of what could only be some form of energy weapon. The energy weapon had been whispered about through leaks in fleet security once the debriefing of the Crusade fleet had been completed. Now there was proof for everyone to see.

The remaining crew of the secondary bridge the officers and non-coms that had been assigned there simply stood unsure of what to do next. The enemy had been repulsed from their mission but at a terrible price. Of the Warstar's group only two crippled Battlestars and nine escorts, three of them disabled or mission killed, were still alive. The Warstar herself damaged but able was still flying but would need assistance to return to the Caprica or Sagittaron Dockyards.

The Tau'ri warships were too fast and agile for more than a few glancing hits or mass launched missiles to even hit, attacks that had would have crippled a Colonial escort the same size. All five of their attackers had escaped without loss or injury and they knew that next time the Tau'ri would be far more ready and willing to destroy anything they came into contact with. They had allowed civilians to live and only destroyed the freighters once the crews were clear, but now would they continue to do so?

"Win? We did frak," a CPO said from the hatchway. "We survived."

"Alright people," the Major in charge said. "Have all remaining ships deploy their raptors and shuttles to our damaged ships. Contact that Battlestar group and ask for their assistance and to deploy a raptor to Caprica Docks and request an FTL tug for this ship."

"Sir, our main communications are offline."

"Relay through a Raptor. If we can and get hold of the damage control parties, I want to know where the Admiral is and if we have access to CIC yet."

"On it sir." the same Ensign replied.

Other members of the command crew were jumping to their duties as they came down from the devastating combat began to hit them. Across the entire Warstar people would have to be cut out of damaged sections or counted among the dead, fortunate that the ship's immense size and heavy armour had worked to their advantage.

The Colonial fleet had fought only its second real battle against the forces of the Tau'ri and once again had found themselves on the bitter end of a critical defeat. Their ships destroyed, fighter wings crippled and badly needed supplies wiped out by a force smaller than a single Battlestar group. Most of the crews and pilots of these ships had joined the Colonial Navy long after the Crusade fleet had left and those that had been with the fleet before knew the difference between the navy then and now. However the arrogance and belief that nothing could touch them was now tempered by the fact that the colonies had been attacked within their own space by ships that could destroy them almost at will.

_**Heavy Cruiser Hephaestus**_  
_**Task Force Minotaur**_  
_**Colonial Border**_  
_**Three weeks ago**_

A final jolt and minor nausea signalled the last of the long range FTL jumps that the Colonial ship had had to make. Several weeks of irregular jumps had brought the Goa'uld and their slaves to the edge of the Cyrannus Sector. The jumps had been far longer and more accurate than usual once the snakes inside several of the humans had used technology stripped out of their crippled Ha'tak and integrated them into the cruiser.

Across all five ships as much as could be stuffed into cargo bays, hangers and even staterooms or barracks now filled to capacity. With weapons, control crystals, computers even a number of disassembled _udajeet_ gliders and several of the heaviest intact cannons of the pyramid craft were held aboard the heavy cruisers, two approaching the size of a Ha'tak itself they were able to take a great amount of equipment and supplies.

Within the temporary flag of the Task Force the captain's cabin and several around it had been combined and specially rebuilt to hide the harsh construction and drab colours of the ship's walls. It had taken several weeks and hundreds of engineers, craftsmen and Jaffa to make the cabin fit for their Queen. It was considered a simple change and few would ever know of it and those what did would either fall under their sway or be executed.

"My Queen."

The Jaffa male dropped to his knee in front of the barely clad woman in front of him. As familiar as he was with the skin that was showing he kept his eyes averted until he was ordered otherwise. As the first prime he was expected to inform his queen as to everything that was happening within the fleet, but sometimes he was also expected to obey every whim that she would send his way.

"Rise beloved," she said. "Do not avail your eyes."

"My queen," he began. "We have arrived at the Colonial borders. A ship has been sighted and will be with us momentarily."

"Very good. Is our second ready?"

"Yes, My Queen."

"Then by all means let my new slaves join us. Have our second acknowledge the new ships and allow them to come aboard."

"Yes, my queen," her first prime obeyed. "May I make an observation?"

"Of course."

She smiled cocking her head with her fist, a mannerism that she had stolen from the host making her look far more like the young human woman she now wore the body of choice of clothing notwithstanding.

Inside the Jaffa several emotions roiled through the man's mind. The allure of his love for his Queen, the memory of sensations that they were aable to give to each other filled his mind. But another dimmer one was that of a pain he didn't realise he had felt, an almost tangible denial of something he didn't know and couldn't understand, something that had never appeared before.

Mentally shaking it off the First Prime continued. "We do not have enough nish'ta and nowhere near enough prim'ta to take over another fleet cruiser. Should I have those hosts put to death that we need to allow the complete takeover of the command crew of that vessel?"

"You have become quite the bloodthirsty Jaffa. We are pleased with your intelligence," the redheaded beauty smirked, "Do as you have intimated and use my brothers and sisters to infiltrate that ship. Kill any of the hosts that survive the transfer."

"I live to obey, my queen."

"You live for more than that my love." Her eyes flashed white, she stood and approached him shedding her few clothes as she did. "Far far more."

One hour later the Heavy Cruiser Paragon hard docked with the incoming Goa'uld infested cruiser. Supplies, crew and data was to be transferred to that ship in order to send them on their way. One hour and thirty minutes later the paragon joined the five vessel of Task Force Minotaur on their way to the Colonial home worlds, its command crew now under the command of their queen and most of the crew under the sway of the nish'ta parasite.

Those that did not join their ranks did not live to regret it.s


End file.
